Chapter 1 Part 1: The Harmony and The Chaos.
Author's Note
So this is how starts this long journey, take a sit, have some popcorn or whatever you want and, of course, have a nice day.
Chapter 1 Part 1: The Harmony and The Chaos.
“Eons ago, our world was very different from today. Peace reigned everywhere you looked. The meaning of war, evil and destruction was unknown. People heard only those words from the mouths of ancient legends of how the Six Elements put an end to the Seven Sins. And it is because of them that prosperity continued to rule the entire planet. The Elements, the six great protective deities, defended the world from those who threatened it. Magic, Water, Soil, Nature, Fire and Storm all ruled in peace over the equestrians, breeding and protecting them as if they were their own childs. But the peace they had given... was short-lived.
The incessance of The Sins; Chaos, Rage, Death, Fear, Lust and Vanity caused the violent combats to increase, provoking the equestrians to finally know the real meaning of those words that the books and myths told about. However, none of the thirteen could predict what was coming to them. He appeared.
The Thirteen had to ally with the other deities of that world to destroy him, but the price to pay for that decision would be their own destruction.
Before the sunset of that world before ours, to ensure that He would be defeated if He returned, they hid their powers in thirteen precious jewels, which could only be used by their mortal reincarnation.
Eons, whole millennia have passed since that time and this myth and the jewels were lost forever into oblivion... but the past always returns and no one is ever prepared to face it...”
The quiet night that hung over in the nearby of Celaeno Island was calm and silent, overshadowed only by the distant howling of wolves and the wind rustling the leaves of surrounding trees. The moon, rising high overhead, dimly illuminated the secondary road along which a three-car caravan was driving.
The lead car, a 2009 Chevrolet Captiva, was carrying two adults.
The driver was a man in his forties with short brown hair and a prominent mustache. His black eyes matched a brown blazer and red tie, as well as dark blue jeans. From his belt hung a police badge that read the acronym for Canterlot City Police Department, CCPD, and his name, Argus Drake.
In the co-driver's seat, a woman about the same age as the man, with long blonde hair with green highlights and light blue eyes, was dressed in light brown pants and a green and purple floral print blouse. The woman was carrying a small badge in her red purse that read “RedCross Hospital Canterlot City” and her name, Dr. Rachel Phox.
Through a walkie talkie installed in the car, a calm, sweet, female voice called out to the driver of the Chevrolet.
“Argus” said the voice ”Argus do you copy?”
“Loud and clear Charlotte” said Argus grabbing the walkie ”What's going on in the queue? Anything to report to the Captain of the police station?”
“Nothing at all.” laughed Charlotte ”I just wanted to see how the girls were doing.”
Glancing in the rearview mirror, Argus looked at the six seats in the back, each occupied by a girl no more than eight years old none. All of them asleep. Three in the front seats and three in the back.
The first was wearing a purple hooded sweatshirt that was a little long, dark blue pants and purple converse, she had long black hair with a purple and a pink highlight.
The second was wearing a white dress with straps that reached her knees, with light blue shoes, her hair was long and black with purple touches. She had two diamond earrings in her ears and was slightly taller than the first.
The third one had the longest hair of all, being completely straightened, covering one of her eyes, it was slightly blonde, almost gray. She was dressed in a light green jumpsuit except for the middle pocket, which was light yellow, and a white shirt. She was wearing pale pink wellies. She was shorter than the first and her skin was very whitish.
The fourth one, in the seat just behind the first one, had short brown hair, like a mane, covered by a soccer cap of the soccer team of the city of Canterlot, the Wonderbolts, blue with the team's symbol, which was a yellow lightning bolt with two white wings. He was wearing a light blue tracksuit with white stripes, a red T-shirt with the same Wonderbolts symbol and black sneakers. She had rainbow earrings in her ears. She was also the shortest of the group.
The fifth had messy, long blonde hair with the ends colored pink. He was wearing a blue T-shirt with yellow stripes and jeans with balloon prints on the knees. He was wearing two hot pink hiking boots with electric blue laces, from where two black socks with smiley emojis printed on them were sticking out. She was the same height as the first one.
The sixth and last one, just like the third one, was wearing a jumpsuit, but hers was completely blue, had on a red and white plaid shirt, black cowboy boots with golden apple prints. Her hair, long and blonde, finished in a ponytail, was covered by a cowboy hat that also hid her closed eyes. She was the tallest of the six girls.
“Well, like marmots after lunch.” said the policeman with a slight chuckle “It's been a long trip. They've fallen asleep shortly after getting in the car and they've been asleep the whole way.”
The woman then grabbed the walkie, making the gesture of wanting to talk herself.
“What about the older kids, are they asleep?” asked the co-pilot.
“Like a rock Rachel.” said a calm male voice “Which is to be admired, considering my mesmerized voice singing Madonna's greatest hits.”
“Are you sure they're asleep? Take their pulse Agent Dutch.” said a different man's voice over the walkie, a little deeper than Argus'.
From the walkie came some adult laughter, as did Argus, Rachel and Charlotte.
The officer with a half smile, rolled his eyes before communicating again.
“ Detective Sparkle, I would urge you not to make me remind you of the Christmas party. The karaoke owner is still traumatised after your performance.” said Dutch calmly but sarcastically.
“ What a lot of envy in the air Mr. Breeze.” said Detective Sparkle.
“The one you have on me.” Dutch replied.
Argus and Rachel chuckled at Dutch's comment as he heard them arguing playfully over the walkie-talkie. Rachel then turned the radio down a bit and looked at the girls, letting out a somewhat sad sigh, which did not go unnoticed by her husband.
“Are you okay honey?” asked Argus worriedly.
“Look at them Argus” said the wife as her husband looked in the rearview mirror at the girls. “They look like little angels...I wish we could have our own angel...”
The policeman looked downcast at his wife as she touched her belly sadly.
“We can always try in vitro insemination dear...” he said trying to comfort her.
“You heard the doctor Argus... even if we tried, it would be extremely difficult and expensive.” Said the woman looking at the floor of the car.
The man sighed and gently grabbed his wife's hand, who gripped him tightly in response.
“I wish the miracle would happen Rachel... because that child, would be the happiest child in the world, to have the best mother anyone could ever wish for.” Said the man drawing a smile and blush from his wife.
“And he would have the best father in the world, if that father is you, Argus.” Said his wife, drawing a blush from the man.
As they spoke, they approached an old stone bridge that connected Celaeno Island with the mainland, which, as soon as Rachel finished speaking, a huge explosion blew up the bridge, scaring all the passengers of the cars, which had to stop at the curve before the bridge suddenly, waking everyone up from the noise of the explosion, the braking and the screams.
“WHAT THE HELL?” shouted Argus seeing the huge column of smoke and fire that destroyed the bridge while huge chunks of stone shot out very close to the cars.
The girl with long pale blonde hair began to cry from fear, being comforted by the one in the white dress as the rest of the girls breathed heavily and looked out frightened through the car windows.
Argus quickly got out of the car and approached the edge of the curve to get a better look at what had happened on the bridge. Mr. Breeze and Mr. Sparkle also quickly got out of the car to join their friend.
Mr. Breeze was a man somewhat shorter than Argus, but in his late fifties. His hair was white and short with a mustache of the same color, shorter than Argus' and his eyes were blue. He wore a light blue sweater with a blue-green shirt, brown jeans with a black belt holding the CCPD police badge.
Mr. Sparkle was a man the same age as Argus and about the same height. His hair was short, black and his eyes were brown. He was dressed in a dark blue jacket, white shirt and light blue pants. In the pocket of the jacket, you could see the CCPD badge sticking out.
“”What the fuck happened?“” Mr. Sparkle said with a racing pulse.
“The bridge has blown up” replied Argus still in shock, watching as burning rocks fell off the cliff into the estuary below them.
“I'll alert HQ” said Mr. Breeze as he ran back to his car.
At that moment out of the three cars all the adults started to get out, as did the teenagers and the six girls.
“Holy shit!” said a teenage boy with black hair that was dyed several parts white as he reached the edge and saw the destroyed bridge.
“What the heck happened?” asked a girl about the teenager's age with light pink dyed hair, who was clutching his arm in fright.
“Cadence! Shinning!” said Mr. Sparkle worriedly ”Get away from here, the four of you, don't let the girls see this.”
Shinning and Cadence, looked at two other teenagers who were with them. A red-haired boy with rounded glasses and a rather tall teenager with long blond hair.
The four of them, then watched as the six girls, fearful, got out of the car and approached where the adults were. They all went after them to try to drive the girls away.
“Girls! Stay away, it's dangerous!” Said the red haired boy.
“But what happened Sunbrust!?” asked the girl with the cap.
“Nothing for you to worry about.” Said the tall teenager.
“But bro...” said the girl in the cowboy hat with a worried gesture.
“Listen to Big Mac, get away from here.” Said Shinning pulling them away from the spot until they were dropped off behind the car.
“But brother, we want to know...was it a bomb?” the girl with purple and violet highlights asked fearfully.
“Sis please listen to us,” said Shinning to her little sister. “Stay here and you'll be safe.”
Meanwhile, in the car from which the adults came out, Mr. Breeze was talking on the walkie talkie on the police station's frequency.
“This is Inspector Breeze!” he said excitedly “We have a 72-14 on the old Celaeno road! The stone bridge has exploded! I repeat, the stone bridge has exploded! Possible murder attempt with explosive weapons! Requesting backup!”
“Copy that inspector.” Said a very deep voice over the radio “All units! Move your asses to the stone bridge! Possible murder attempt with explosive weapon! Move! Move!”
The girls, meanwhile, were escorted by the teenagers, who had their backs to them trying to see something of what had happened as distant police sirens began to wail.
The long-haired girl couldn't stop crying, so the girl in the cap, joined the one in the white dress.
“Easy Fluttershy” said the girl with the cap putting a hand on her shoulder while smiling in discomfort “It was nothing.”
“I was so scared Rainbow Dash” she said still unable to stop crying ”We almost had one of those rocks fall on us.”
“But it didn't happen darling.” Said the girl in the white dress as she hugged her friend “We're all fine. There you go Shy, there you go.”
The hug was joined by Rainbow, comforting the girl.
“Thank you Rarity. Thank you Rainbow.” Fluttershy said as tears stopped flowing from her eyes.
“How odd it's all been.” Said the girl in the cowboy hat “All quiet and then all of a sudden BOOM.”
“It's almost like they were waiting for us Applejack” said the girl with highlights ”It's been so sudden.”
“WHAT IF THEY WERE GOVERNMENT SPIES TRYING TO KILL YOUR DADDIES!!!?” shouted the tousle-haired girl, causing Fluttershy to cry again in fear, earning a mean look from Rarity and Rainbow.
“Very subtle Pinkie...” said the highlighted girl sarcastically.
“It's a possibility Twilight.” Pinkie said lifting her shoulders indifferently.
“And why would they want to attack government spies on their parents?” asked Applejack with a deadpan look.
“They're cops. The government doesn't like cops. Especially the good ones.” Said too seriously the girl.
“Your worlds lose me Pinkie, they really do.” said Twilight rolling her eyes.
At that moment, behind them, in the bushes of the forest, a strange noise was heard, startling all six of them.
“What was that?” said Rainbow coming out defensively but fearfully.
“It's the spies who have come to see if the job is done...” said Pinkie trembling with fear.
“Will you stop scaring us Pinkie!?” scolded Rarity.
Another sound, scared the girls again, this time they saw a shadow move from one bush to another.
“May... may... maybe it's a little animal hurt by the explosion.” Said Fluttershy fearfully approaching towards the edge of the road with the forest.
A new noise in the bush, made her jump and turn back, standing behind Rainbow.
“No animal or government spy scares my friend.” Rainbow said angrily heading into the forest.
“Rainbow what are you doing!?” said Twilight looking at the teens who hadn't noticed and started to follow her to try to stop her.
The other four fearfully looked at the teens as well and swallowing saliva, walked into the trees.
“Dash, come back!” shouted Twilight as she caught up to her ”It could be a wolf or a bear!”
“I'll chase it away anyway.” Dash said, grabbing a rock “With this.”'
“Rainbow no!” said Fluttershy, reaching out with the rest. “'It'll just be scared.”
A bush that stood next to them then moved and some whimpering sounds started to be heard.
“It's over there...” said Applejack gripping a fallen branch tightly.
“Not a good idea girls...” said Twilight trying to restrain her two friends, who were sneaking closer to the bush.
The rest, a little further back and with fear in their eyes, watched as the two girls, the taller and the shorter one flanked the bush.
As they stood on either side of it, they wordlessly counted to three, raising their two rudimentary weapons.
They quickly pulled the bush aside and both jumped out, shouting loudly to try to scare off whatever it was. But then they realized that, what they thought was an animal or an evil spy, was actually a kid.
The boy, seeing the aggressiveness of the girls, fell flat on his back and covered his head with his arms as he cried inconsolably.
The two girls stopped dead in their tracks, still holding their arms up. The other four ran to where they stood, shocked at the sight of the little boy.
He would have not been older than five years old. His hair was green and tousled, the ends of it ending like spikes. He was shirtless and his body was covered with sores and scars. His brown pants were torn and his legs were bruised.
“Is it a boy?” asked Pinkie totally lost.
Twilight seeing the two girls still holding the stone and branch up, angrily lowered their arms.
“Throw that you morons! You're scaring him!” she said to them both, snapping them out of their shock.
“Poor thing... he's so injured...” said Fluttershy covering her mouth with her hands.
Twilight, slowly, approached the boy. Crouching down and keeping a distance where she would show him that she wasn't a threat.
“Hey... hey little one... it's okay” the girl said with a smile and a soft voice, stretching out her hand for him to take. “We won't hurt you.”
The boy began to uncover his armadillo defense, opening his eyes.
The girls, at the same time, upon seeing his big emerald eyes, felt a glow and a comforting sensation that calmed them instantly, the same happened with the little boy, who stopped crying as soon as he saw the six of them.
“ C'mon little one... come here.” said Twilight as the boy stretched out his hand, still trembling, and placed it on Twilight's, who helped him back on his feet. “That's it. Very good.”
Suddenly, the boy's eyes began to bug out, collapsing on top of Twilight, who grabbed him tightly.
“Little boy! Hey! Wake up!” the girl said, startling the others.
The six surrounded Twilight as she touched the boy.
“Oh my God! His body is frozen and his forehead is burning!” said Twilight before looking at Pinkie and Dash "Warn the parents! Hurry!"
The two girls, wasting no time, took off towards the direction where the adults were.
“Rarity help me.” said Twilight as she handed the boy to her and took off her sweatshirt, revealing a purple t-shirt with white stars drawn on it. “Put it on him, we have to protect him from the cold.”
Rarity gently put Twilight's hoodie on the boy, which was as large as a cape for him, as the boy was very short. The boy was shivering, so both she and Twilight, came together to hug and warm him.
Shy noticed that the boy was also barefoot with his feet full of dirt. So she picked up his feet, cleaned them and unzipped her jumpsuit. She moved in with the other two a bit and slipped the boy's feet inside to keep them warm.
Applejack, then, started shouting in the forest.
“Is anyone there!? Hello!?” said the girl in the cowboy hat.
“What are you doing Applejack?” asked Twilight puzzled.
“This kid can't have just appeared out of nowhere.” Said Applejack looking all around the forest, trying to find someone without success. “His parents must be around here somewhere. Hello!? Your son is badly hurt! Get over here!”
However, there was no answer. There was only the sound of the wind rustling the leaves of the trees and the police sirens that were getting closer and closer.
“It doesn't make sense.” Said Applejack giving up “What's this kid doing here, what's he doing nearly naked? It's not possible for a five year old at most to be wandering around the woods alone.”
“It's strange yes” said Rarity ”But we must take care of him now, darling.”
The boy, thanks to the warmth of the three friends, had stopped shivering, but his face was growing paler and paler and his breathing was growing fainter and fainter. Applejack, seeing him, felt a great sadness and put a hand on his knee.
From among the trees, they saw Pinkie, Dash, the teenagers, Argus and Rachel coming.
“Hang on boy” said the cowgirl ”Help is coming.”
As they arrived, the teens and the two adults were perplexed at the sight of the boy.
“Oh my god!” said Rachel going to where the girls were sitting, whom were very worried.
“ It's true, it's a kid.” Cadance said incredulously, putting her hands to her mouth as she saw what a bad state he was in.
“If the day was already getting weird, this just topped it off.” Big Mac said incredulously, scratching his head.
Rachel crouched down to the girls level and began taking his temperature with her hand.
“He's getting really weak Rachel,” said Twilight almost in tears.
“You have to help him.” Fluttershy said with a tear falling from her right eye.
Rachel, startled at the sight of the boy's temperature and his dull skin.
“I have to get him out of here!” said Rachel looking at her husband ”There's no time to lose Argus, I can't wait for an ambulance to come.”
“Is it that serious?” the police captain asked in fright, to which his wife, so as not to alert the the youth, simply nodded worriedly. “All right, get the car and take him home. Quickly.”
Rachel gently scooped up the boy, whose head didn't even have the strength to stand upright.
“I'll take the girls with me.” Rachel said as she looked at the girls. “It's better if they're not here.”
“Yes, it will be best. Hurry up, let's go.” Argus said agitated.
They all left the forest as fast as they could. The adults, stood watching in astonishment as Rachel loaded the boy into the car.
“No way.” Said one of the adults who had dyed hair of different colors.
“But what's a boy doing in the woods?” asked a woman with dyed purple hair and a light blue tennis cap.
“No time to explain.” Said Argus arriving back with them. “Rachel must take him away, it's pretty severe. She'll take the girls too.”
“Oh my...” said Mrs. Breeze “Make her hurry.”
The girls got into the car, putting the boy between Fluttershy and Rarity in the front seats and Twilight putting herself in the passenger seat.
They all looked scared about the boy's condition, so Rachel smiled reassuringly, hiding her nerves.
“Calm down girls. Everything will be fine.” She said starting the car.
None of the six could take their eyes off the boy, whose head was resting on Shy's shoulder, as Shy gripped his hand tightly.
“Hang in there little boy.” They all thought at once.
Rachel began to accelerate as fast as she could, following the road past the destroyed bridge. From the sky, two police helicopters appeared and from the opposite direction of the road, several squad cars were sounding alarms as they passed near the Chevrolet.
Applejack, Dash and Pinkie watched out the back window as police cars pulled up around the adults. They looked at each other with worried eyes, before turning back to look at the boy, who looked almost like a corpse.
Hours later
The Drake house was in the quiet neighborhood of Ponyville, just outside the Canterlot city. It was a large neighborhood with spacious two-story townhouses and front and back gardens.
In the kitchen, large and spacious, attached to the living-dining room and surrounding the open kitchen island where the Drakes had the stove and a space with stools for breakfast, the adults surrounded it in search of answers to their questions. In all, along with the Drakes, the Breeze and Mr. Sparkle, there were five more adults.
Mrs. Breeze was the oldest woman of them all, almost in her fifties. Her short, curly hair was pale blonde but dyed raspberry like her eyes. She wore a yellow pearl necklace that matched her daisy earrings, as well as light blue horn glasses. She wore a long strapless amber dress with pins of different flowers around her chest. Her flat shoes were garnet in color.
Next to Mr. Sparkle was a woman in her early forties. Her white hair with purple highlights reached her shoulders. She was the same height as Rachel, being slightly shorter than Argus. Her eyes were a light blue color that sparkled with the golden pearl necklace she wore around her neck. She was dressed in purple pants and a grayish shirt, along with purple high heels.
The man with short multicolored hair whose original color could be noted to be dark brown, was tall and stocky, brown-eyed and in his forties. He wore a blue-green denim shirt and underneath it, he had a white T-shirt bordered in blue with the Wonderbolts emblem. His pants were light blue and he was wearing white sneakers.
Next to him, there was a woman with violet eyes and short red hair, which was lighter in some areas. Like the rest of the women, she was about the same height and age, being the shortest and youngest of them all. She was wearing a yellow denim shirt with white trim except for the collar, which was cyan. Underneath, she wore a white T-shirt with a gray-bordered cloud and wind symbols emanating from it.
Next to them were two other adults.
One was the purple-haired woman with a big bun in the back and a blue tennis cap. Her eyes were light blue and she wore a red sweater with quilted cotton edges and white branded pants. Around her neck, she wore a seashell pendant, of the same sand color as her high heels.
Beside her stood a man about the same age as Mr. Breeze. Corpulent and tall like the man with multicolored hair. His hair was short and brown like his mustache. His eyebrows, unlike those of the rest, were very thick, which highlighted his dark blue eyes. He was wearing a straw hat with a blue ribbon and a dark blue Hawaiian shirt with light blue, yellow and white flower patterns along with grayish pants and black sneakers.
Finally, between Argus and Rachel, there was a last woman, much taller than the others, almost the same height as the man with multicolored hair.
She was a woman with violet eyes and very long hair in a variety of colors such as pale cyan, light green, pale purple and light pink. She was dressed in a yellow blazer and white and purple striped shirt. Her pants were light purple and her high heels were orange-yellow.
“How is it that you didn't stay on the bridge, Argus?” asked Mr. Sparkle.
“Sub-Captain William Ironhoof insisted that I come home after the long trip back from Hawaii. Plus I still had two vacation days left. Obviously, I've called them off and I'll go first thing tomorrow morning.” Argus said crossing his arms thoughtfully.
“We'll go too Ar.” said Mr. Breeze.
“You still have vacation days left Dutch, I want you to get a good rest.” He replied back to his friend.
“Like hell!” said Mr. Sparkle angrily ”They almost killed us and the kids, it's not going to stay that way.”
“If we can help, we'll go too.” Said the straw-hatted man, referring to the multi-colored haired man, who nodded confidently.
“I appreciate you guys wanting to help, but Harold, Bob, you're still civilians and this is a police case. Besides, Bow, you have to open the bar and Hondo, you run the grocery store.” Said the police captain appreciatively but withholding his help.
“Still, there must be some way we can help...” said the woman next to Mr. Sparkle. “Any hypothesis as for what might have happened?”
“We don't know yet Velvet” said Argus sighing ”It's too early to draw any conclusions.”
All the adults started to think, some putting their hands to their chins, others resting them on the islet and others crossing their arms.
“Is it possible that it was one of the city's gangs?” the woman next to Bow asked somewhat fearfully.
“Yes, like those soulless of the Drakkar.” Said somewhat angrily the woman next to Hondo “Those low classless vermin have had it in for you since you took almost all the power of their territory.”
“I don't think it was any mafia Wendy.” Said Mr. Sparkle. “The Kirin always try to keep a low profile. Their little world is drugs and there are almost no incidents with them, they are not violent at all unless you provoke them too much. And the Drakkar, as you rightly mentioned Carol, are too weak since that hit on their cargo ship.”
“But they are in the weapons trade” Mrs. Breeze remarked somewhat fearfully for her husband “If any of them are responsible, it is most likely them.”
“Charlotte, don't worry.” His husband reassured her “As long as Torch is still behind bars, I doubt they'll be able to make that much illegal movement, especially with explosive weapons.”
They all became pensive again, until Rachel looked at the woman between her and her husband.
“What do you think Celeste?” she asked her.
The woman, looked at the floor still thoughtful before speaking.
“ I think that the incident is too unusual for it to be the plan of some mafia.” She said raising her head and looking at everyone. “Had it been an attack where they wanted us dead, seeing that we didn't fall through the bridge, they would have come out to mow us down. It was the perfect spot. Far enough away from the city so no one would hear the gunshots, a cliff leading straight to the sea and estuary or the deep forest to hide the bodies...I don't think it's a dead reckoning.”
“And what could it be but Celestia?” asked Wendy somewhat exceptionally.
“I have no idea... but rare, very rare... like the child.” Said Celestia putting her hand to her chin again.
“That's another one.” Said Mr. Sparkle “The elephant in the room. What the heck was a five year old boy doing in the woods?”
“I have no idea Norman.” Rachel said thoughtfully. “But that boy is a fighter. When we got home he had a very weak pulse and his fever had reached forty-three degrees. His oxygen saturation was reaching the vital limit. He was practically dead. I managed to put him on saline and inject him with epinephrine, but I knew it was practically useless. Miraculously, the boy stabilized and his fever started to come down as his oxygen rose.”
“Wow, he's a little warrior I see.” Bow said with a comforting smile.
“He certainly is.” Said Rachel smiling “The girls are upstairs with him, keeping an eye on him to make sure his fever doesn't rise again. By the way, why didn't you bring the teenagers?”
“We preferred that they go with Granny Smith and the three littles, so she can calm them down about what happened.” Celestia explained
“Are you sure it's a good idea to leave the girls in charge of the boy?” said a little concerned Hondo ”It's just... it's weird, we don't even know who his parents are or who he is.”
“Please Harold, he's a kid, not a demon.” Said Norman rolling his eyes “Besides, if Twilight and her friends are taking care of him, then the kid couldn't be in better hands.”
Upstairs, in the guest room, which was quite spacious, even having its own bathroom with a large window and an empty wooden desk underneath, the girls stood around a bed, where, wrapped up on his back and with a vial of saline solution clutched in his left hand, the boy was resting.
From the bathroom, Dash emerged as the sound of her flushing the toilet could be heard.
“Whew... I've been holding it in since the airport.” Said the girl drying her hands with her pants and headed to where the rest were. “ Anything new?”
“Nothing... he's still asleep.” Said Rarity, who was sitting on a chair, looking at him with a smile.
“Despite his height, he's quite the warrior.” Said Dash smiling proudly.
“And besides he's pretty cute don't you think?” said Pinkie who was looking at him from the desk, being seated on its edge.
“Like all kids his age.” Said Applejack who was looking at him standing next to Twilight and Fluttershy.
“Yeah, but he has a little angel face. He's like a little puppy.” Shy said smiling, with a slight blush on her cheeks.
“Still, it's very odd his hair.” Said Twilight thoughtfully “I don't think it's dyed, it looks like it's his natural color. It looks great on him, but it's very odd.”
“I like it. It's a funny hair.” Pinkie said smiling as she wiggled her dangling legs off the desk.
Fluttershy, then, looked at his right hand and saw how it had a large scarred burn on it.
“Oh... poor little thing...” she said approaching to his hand, making all of them notice.
“It looks like a burn from a lighter or something.” Twilight said somewhat saddened.
“More like a torch.” Said Applejack noticing the size of the burn.
“What kind of monster could hurt a little angel like you?” said Fluttershy pitifully as she grabbed his hand.
Noticing the heat, the boy, startled, woke up hyperventilating and looking scared all around. This caused the little girl to abruptly let go of his hand and move away from the fright, as well as surprising everyone.
“Hey! Hey! Take it easy little guy!” said Twilight sitting on the bed with him, holding his hands to reassure him and keep him from pulling off the bed.
“Who are you? Where am I? What happened?” he said upset and with his voice cracking with fatigue.
“ Easy sugarcube, you're safe." said Applejack "You fainted and we brought you to our parents' friends' house. Don't you remember? We're the girls from the forest.”
The boy, after clearing his eyes by blinking a couple of times, saw them and calmed down, steadying his breathing.
“What's your name little guy?” asked Twilight tenderly.
“E...E...Evan. But...they call me Spike.” Said the boy looking at all of them.
“Spike? oh right, because of your hair isn't it?” asked Pinkie as she climbed down from the desk.
The boy nodded with a half smile.
“I'm Tamara, but they call me Twilight,” the girl said introducing herself. “And these are my friends, Jennifer.”
“You can call me Rarity, darling,” she said smiling.
“Lucy.”
“Rainbow is the nickname, Dash is the style.” Said the young girl with a defiant smile.
“Daiane”
“Daiane 'Pinkie' Pie to serve you little one” the girl said effusively.
“Jackleynn.”
“ Call me Applejack sugarcube?" said the girl winking at him.
“And lastly Annie.”
“Annie calls me my mommy, you can call me Fluttershy or Shy.” Said the girl shyly brushing her hair out of her eye with a smile.
“Hi everyone...” said Spike smiling with his eyes half closed.
“Hey, when we found you in the forest you were all alone.” Said Rarity somewhat worried “Where are your parents?”
The boy's smile faltered as he looked away.
“I... I don't have parents...” he said almost crying. “I...I ran away from the orphanage where I was...because they did so many... mean things to me..."
He then look at the burn in his hand, take air and continue explaining.
I tore my shirt on some branches...I was cold and tired. I heard a big noise when I was walking near the road... and I fell to the ground in fright. Then I saw the explosion and hid. I was so scared.”
The girls, at that moment, felt a lump forming in their throats, feeling very sorry for the kid.
“My poor little guy.” said Fluttershy approaching him again and grabbing his hand, as all the others, sadly approached him and grabbed his legs gently, his hair and his face being this last one Twilight, who wiped with her finger a tear that fell from his eye.
“Don't worry anymore Spike... we'll take care of you from now on.” She said consoling the boy, who rested his face completely on her hand.
“Thanks...” he said almost sighing as he fell asleep again, this time, with a smile.
The girls gently moved away from him.
“We should let him rest.” Applejack said as she headed for the door, not taking her eyes off the bed.
“Yeah... after all he's been through, he needs to sleep.” Said Rarity putting her hand on Shy's shoulder, who seemed to want to stay.
They all left the room, closing the door carefully so as not to wake him.
Already in the hallway, they started walking towards the stairs to meet the adults.
“I've never seen so much strength in someone so small.” Dash said trying not to cry “He's a real champ.”
“No doubt.” They all said at once, smiling.
Downstairs, the adults' conversation, still trying to guess who was the mysterious boy they had found.
“The strangest thing is that he had no identification of any kind.” Mentioned Mr. Sparkle “We sent word to Central to look for any information on a missing child in nearby towns and nothing.”
“Pretty strange thing, considering his peculiar appearance.” Dutch said. “But there's nothing, no reports from parents, no reports from foster homes or orphanages, nothing. It's like this kid just popped up in that place.”
“You say that like if he was an alien.” Rachel said, rolling her eyes.
“Alien or not... it's very strange.” Said Celestia thoughtfully “We don't even know any names or nicknames that could give us any clues.”
“Evan” said Twilight as she walked down the stairs with the rest of her friends, leaving the adults silent. “His name is Evan, but they call him Spike... and he's an orphan.”
The mood in the kitchen went cold as the adults looked at each other somewhat saddened.
“How do you know daughter?” asked Velvet.
“He woke up a little and we could talk to him.” Said Applejack coming up to stand six o'clock in front of the adults.
“Did he say anything about an orphanage or anything like that?” asked Mr. Breeze.
“He just said he ran away from there, because people were mean to him.” Said his daughter looking at the ground sadly.
“And that he was passing by the road when he was surprised by the explosion.” Dash said to her mother.
“Oh god, poor kid.” Said Wendy sorrowfully.
They all stood in thought as they looked in the direction of the stairs.
“Knowing this... the logical thing to do would be to call Social Affairs and have him taken back to the orphanage...” said Norman scratching the back of his head.
“WHAT!? NO!” all the girls shouted at once.
“Don't take him back to that place!” shouted Twilight upset at her father.
“They did really bad things to him!” scolded Applejack.
“His hand is completely burned because of it!” said Pinkie crying to them.
“ Calm down girls” Bow told them trying to get them to keep their voices down.
“No!” his daughter replied ”Anything! Really! But don't do that to him!”
“ You... you could adopt him, couldn't you?” said Fluttershy to them.
“Can we daddy? mommy?” said Twilight ”You know I've always wanted a little brother. I promise I will take care of him and love him very much.”
Norman and Velvet looked at each other dejectedly and then confronted their daughter.
“I'm sorry Twilight, but between you and your brother there are already too many of us at home.” Velvet told her ruefully.
“Neither us honey” said Mr. and Mrs. Breeze to their daughter ”With your big brother overseas and you, it's too much expense.”
Celestia then looked at the other adults as the girls bottom lip began to tremble.
“It's a good idea...maybe they can't, but can you?” she asked the others.
“Impossible.” Hondo said discouraged, “Between the grocery store suppliers. Carol's designs and Mary and Jennifer's school expenses, we're in over our heads.”
”Us between the bar bills, the coaching, Kate's medical condition and Lucy's equipment...it's just too much.“ Wendy said sadly.
“And Granny Smith is doing bad enough having Jackelynn, Marcus, Amelie and Daiane in her care...” muttered Celeste.
All eyes, then, fell on the Drakes. A great silence ran through the room as the couple looked at each other.
“What... what do you think Rachel?” asked Argus nervously.
“I...I don't know...it's very sudden isn't it?” she said hesitantly, until she slowly began to evoke a smile. A thing that filled the girls' eyes with hope. “But... it's like a...”
“Like a miracle... a miracle from heaven.” Argus said smiling as well.
“You always wanted a son.” Celestia said smiling. “It was your greatest illusion. If this isn't a sign from heaven let god come down and see, isn't it? Besides, being the police captain of the most important police station in the city, I don't think it would be hard for you to get his identity card... your friend Dutch knows the best judge in town, so adoption papers would be no problem and besides, your wife's best friend, that's me, is the principal of the best school in the country, so there wouldn't be any schooling problem.”
Everyone fell silent and expectant again, especially the girls, toward the two adults.
Argus put his hands on Rachel's shoulders, huffing from nerves.
“What shall we do love, shall we dive into the pool?” he said smiling as he placed his right hand on the cheek of his wife.
She, smiling from nerves, began to blush.
“ YES! YES! Let's go for it!” his wife said happily as she threw herself to his lips, giving her husband a deep, romantic kiss.
Everyone in the room began to clap and squeal with excitement. The girls began to hug and scream with joy.
Breaking the kiss, the two adults looked back up the stairs, wide smiles on their faces.
“Evan Drake Phox” Argus said as the others kept celebrating. “Spike, for friends.”
“Sounds like the perfect name for the perfect son.” Rachel said hugging Argus lovingly.
“From the perfect parents.” Said Argus hugging his wife back.
Upstairs in the guest bed, Spike, dreaming, began to smile as he snuggled under the covers and sighed with joy and reassurance, unaware that his life, had just changed forever.
