Chapters It was the day after her coronation ceremony. Or you could say, the night. A whole day as a princess. Twilight still couldn’t believe it. She lay there, unable to fall asleep from the ordeal that had happened those past few days. She was still in the library for now, but this time, 2 guards were posted at the front door. Spike slept like he usually did, with absolutely no care in the world.
Twilight sat up, and looked at Spike as he slept. She smiled at that little baby dragon, remembering all of their adventures since they arrived in Ponyville. She looked at her new wings, and then glanced out the window. The starlit night sparkled with a radiance that always captivated Twilight. She sighed, a flood of memories washing over her mind. So much had happened in Ponyville; It seemed like forever ago since she came here. And now, she was a princess. It was all a bit of a rush.
Suddenly, a flash of light burst from downstairs. In a fit of curiosity, Twilight raced to the staircase, confused as to what was going on. What she saw drew he breath away. In the middle of the library floor was a giant hole, a portal of some sorts. It spiraled, looking as if it was going to suck everything in its belly. It was what came out of the portal that frightened Twilight.
A figure, about as tall as Princess Celestia, walked- no, limped- from the portal into the center of the room. It didn’t walk on 4 legs like most creatures, but walked on 2. From what Twilight could see in the darkness, the creature had no hair on its body, except for its head. It wore clothing, almost as black as a starless night. It was clutching it’s left side, and was dripping some fluid on the floor. It was mumbling something, But Twilight couldn’t make it out from where she was. As soon as it was through, the portal closed, and the figure collapsed to the floor.
Twilight was stunned, unable to think of what to do. She cast a spell that lit up the room, and what she then saw horrified her. The reason the creature was clutching it’s left side at about it’s shoulder was because its arm was missing, and the fluid was blood, pooling under the collapsed figure. She quickly rushed down the stairs, unsure of what to do. She wanted to call for help, but the guards weren’t near fast enough to get help. As she neared the creature, she could hear what it was mumbling. She was surprised that it was actually speaking. It kept saying “No…I…I failed….Again….Forgive me…” She ran to the door as quickly as possible.
“Twilight?” she heard Spike say from behind. She let the spell fade, not wanting Spike to see the trauma the creature had suffered.
“Don’t worry, Spike. I’ll take care of this.” She ran out the door, startling the two guards at the door. “There is a creature in the library. It’s injured, and I’m going to get help. Stay put and watch over it, understand?” she told them. Reluctantly, the guards looked at each other, then they nodded, acknowledging the command they had been given. They went in the library, and shut the door behind them.
Without hesitation, Twilight spread her wings and took off for the hospital. She wasn’t anywhere near as fast as Rainbow Dash, and the concept of flight was somewhat new to her, but that didn’t matter. She had to get to the hospital as fast as possible, and flight was still much faster than running there the whole way. As she flew, she looked down on Ponyville, seeing the houses and the residents sleeping. Though Ponyville was asleep now, It had seen it’s share of action tonight.
Twilight arrived at the hospital in almost no time at all. She burst in, and explained the situation to Nurse Redheart, who always seemed to be on duty. She called for one of the winged emergency medics, a team of flyers trained to deal with intense situations. In almost 5 minutes, the team was ready with equipment, and they took off towards the library. In a roundtrip of about 15 minutes, Twilight had returned with the team, but when they burst in the door, they were shocked.
The guards had a frightened look on their face, and that was suprising, even for them. Spike was sitting at the base of the stairs, his eyes wide with fright. The creature still lay in a pool of blood, but this time, something was weird. Maybe Twilight was just imagining it, or maybe she just thought his arm was gone, but whatever the case, the creature’s left arm was there. While the team checked the creature out, Twilight ran over to Spike, concerned for her dear friend. She shook him a couple of times, and finally, he looked her in the eyes. “Spike, what happened here?” she asked.
As Spike turned his face, the look of horror was still on his face. He then said in a low voice, “It…It…”. He turned to Twilight and said,” It screamed for a while in pain, and then….it’s arm grew back…”
Twilight turned from her friend and looked at the creature. It rolled over, laying on its back now. It looked like nothing she had ever seen before. It had every facial feature all animals share; a nose, ears, 2 eyes, and a mouth. Its hair was black and was somewhat long, but it was spiked up to hide the true length. It had a body that looked like some form of monkey, but without a tail. The clothing it wore was black, and its left sleeve was cut off right at the shoulder. Even with the darkness of the clothes, Twilight could see the soaked blood in its shirt.
As the medical team examined the creature, Twilight led Spike up the stairs to their room. She tried sitting him down on the bed and tried talking to him, but he was still scared of whatever the creature did. No amount of words would get him to respond. “I’ll be back, Spike. I have to check on that…thing downstairs,” Said Twilight. Still Spike did not respond.
When Twilight got down the stairs, she looked around the library. The guards had regained their strength, although the look of shock was still on their face. The team had ended their inspection, and started cleaning up the blood around the floor. The creature was covered in a blanket, resting.
One of the team members saw Twilight, and walked over to her. “We have finished examining that thing over there. From what we can tell, it suffered a few broken ribs, and its left leg has been fractured. Frankly, I’m amazed that it was able to walk, from what you told me as to how it got here.”
“Was there any sign that its left limb had been recently removed?” Asked Twilight, shuddering at the thought.
The medical pony looked at her with a strange look. “Removed? No, nothing like that. Although, it would explain the amount of blood loss. It passed out from the pain, so we won’t be able to see until it wakes. Maybe Fluttershy would be able to understand it.”
Twilight said, “We won’t need Fluttershy. The thing can understand speech, and can speak itself.”
The medical pony looked surprised. “It spoke? Surely you must be imagining, your Majesty. A monkey that can speak?”
“So you have confirmed it’s a monkey?” Asked Twilight.
“Well, not exactly. It seems like a monkey, but I have never seen a monkey like that. At any rate, we would like to move it, but we don’t have hospital beds near big enough to hold it. Also, this thing is really heavy to lift, we would have to get a cart to carry it.”
Twilight thought for a moment. She then responded, “Leave it here, then. If one of you will stay to watch its progress, then the guards will be able to protect us should it awaken.”
The medical pony stared at Twilight for a second, stunned by the idea. But the more he thought about it, the better of an idea it sounded. “All right. I’ll stay behind and monitor its progress. I have some more investigating to do on this thing.”
Twilight looked at a door to the far left of her and said, “Down there is the basement. There is a large bed down there, too large to get out. It should be enough to lay it in. My guards will help you take it downstairs. I’ll make some tea, I feel like it’s gonna be a long night.”
The medical ponies cleaned up their materials, and then helped the guards move the creature downstairs. First, Twilight went upstairs to check on Spike. He was still shocked, although he was starting to calm down. Since he was still up, Twilight wrote a letter to Princess Celestia explaining the situation, and had Spike send the letter. Then, she tucked Spike into his bed, hoping that he would fall asleep. Surprisingly, the moment he hit the pillow, he passed out, all the worries that had troubled him seeming to fade away with sleep. Twilight smiled, wishing that she could be as carefree as him. She looked up at the clock, which now read 2:17 in the morning. Twilight was amazed at how much time had passed by since the thing first came through the portal. She hurried down the stairs, racing to get some tea ready. The other medical ponies were just leaving, and the lead of the group, who stayed behind, was coming to give another report.
“I can’t believe that thing is so heavy. I’m surprised that it didn’t wake up from all the shaking around we did.” Twilight looked at the door, than looked back at the medical pony.
“Can you give me a full report?” The pony looked at her, and slightly bowed his head. “Of course, majesty. We removed its bloody clothing and dressed its wounds. It won’t be walking for a while, but we will try to transfer it to the hospital or the vet or something.” Twilight nodded, acknowledging the fact that she may have a creature living in her basement for a few days. “There’s something else. This creature has some strange objects with him. It had a bag full of strange curved sticks, small metal cartridges, and what looked like 2 small swords. It has a strange ring on his right hand, and a wristband that wouldn’t come off. But it has something even stranger than that.”
Twilight leaned in, curious to hear what the pony had to say. “What is it?” asked Twilight. The pony started to scratch his head. “Well, it looks like it has a Cutie Mark on its right arm, around the upper portion hidden from view. This is the strangest mark I’ve seen, though. It appears to be a sword, with two dragons curling around it, and a number is under the sword and above the dragon’s heads. The first number says ‘X-303’. The second number, above the dragon’s heads, says ‘S-11’. I don’t know what to make of it.”
Twilight, confused as to the prospect of this thing having a Cutie Mark, decided that it was time to try to get some rest. She made tea for those staying awake, which she felt she would be included in this. She shrugged off the questions she had, though, feeling that in the morning, she would be able to ask it herself.
Time-8:17 A. M.
One of the guards came and awoke Twilight from her slumber. "Your Highness, the creature is stirring." said the guard.
"Thank you, I will take it from here." said Twilight. She walked to the door, afraid of what she might discover. In spite of her fear, she was also curious to see what would happen. She had never seen a creature like this, and the prospect of learning something new excited her.
She opened the door and descended the stairs, As she got to the bottom, she saw the creature start to awaken. She braced herself, half expecting the creature to attack when it saw her. She stuttered, "H-Hello? are you alright? can you understand me?"
The creature stretched its arms, and winced, realizing its ribs were broken. It responded in a masculine voice, "Yeah, i am now that I'm-" It stopped as it looked at Twilight. It looked around the room, as if looking for someone. "Uh, who talked? there's a pony in here, and it couldn't have talked."
Twilight looked offended. "Well I for one am surprised you can talk as well."
The creature, who Twilight now assumed was male, had a confused look on its face. "From all the crap I've seen, this takes the prize for first. I have never seen a talking pony." he muttered, "although i shouldn't be surprised."
Twilight, believing that he wouldn't hurt her, started to trot towards his bag. "How are you feeling? are your wounds feeling better?"
He looked at his bandages, at gave a smirk. "Yeah, I'm feeling great. Whoever patched me up did a heck of a job."
Twilight smiled and said, "Well, I'll be sure to tell him his patient is happy with his work." She turned her attention back to the bag. "Now, I have a few questions for you."
The creature nodded, and said, "I have a few questions of my own, but you may go first."
Twilight asked her first question. "What are you, and where did you come from?"
The creature responded, "Well, I'm a human. You do have those here, wherever the heck 'here' is, right?"
Twilight shook her head. "I've never seen something like you; although, Lyra has an obsession with creatures like you now that i think about it."
The human responded, "That's a shame. We really are likable creatures. As to where I come from, I don't think you would be able to wrap your head around it just yet. Next question, please."
Twilight pulled one of the curved sticks out with her magic. "What is this? I've never seen anything like it."
The human jolted up, and winced as he did so. "Put that away! It's loaded!"
Twilight immediately put it away, not knowing what he meant by "loaded", but if it frightened him, she should be scared as well. She stepped away from the bag, and focused her attention back on the human. "By the way, do you have a name? I don't want to keep calling you 'the human'."
The human hesitated for a while, then said, " It's Aiden."
Twilight looked at Aiden, the name seeming to fit his appearance. He was tall, about as tall as Princess Celestia. His black hair was no longer messed up, but was at medium length. His eyes were what were interesting. His eyes were light blue, almost white. He had muscles all up his arm, as if he had muscles since the day he was born. as the doctor described, he had an interesting mark on his right arm, as well as a strange looking armband around his wrist and a ring.
"I have one last question for you for now. When you came through here in that 'portal', you looked like you had an arm missing. you made a horrible mess of blood on my floor." Said Twilight.
Aiden looked at her in an apologetic matter. "Sorry about that. I'll take care of any damage done."
Twilight looked at him and said, "All the blood has been cleaned up, so there is nothing to apologize for. Whenever I left here to get help, you had no left arm. When i came back, it was back. so tell me; was i mistaken, or did you miraculously grow your arm back?"
Aiden got a serious look on his face, and after a few moments, said in a serious tone, "You must have been imagining things."
Twilight got up to leave, believing she wasn't going to get answers to her questions by asking directly. "I'll be back in a couple of minutes with some breakfast. I don't know what humans eat, so tea and bread are going to have to do. Will that be all right?"
Aiden smiled. "I'm so hungry I could eat a hor-...sorry. Human expression, ignore it."
When Twilight got up the stairs, she ran over to the desk in the corner of the library. she found a spell she had been reading on called "The Mind Eye". This spell could allow her to see in another room in the same building with her mind and not her eyes. She cast the spell, hoping it would work. Surprisingly, it did, and she watched as Aiden pulled himself up to the bedframe.
"Crap, that was a little unexpected." He said. "He then pulled the wristband up in front of his face and spoke to it. " Eva, give me an update. Where the hell are we?". To Twilight's surprise, the wristband made a response.
"Don't talk like that, you know I hate it when you use language."
Aiden responded, " Oh, shut up, I didn't ask for your opinion. Can you tell me where the heck we are?"
The wristband, or Eva as he called it, said, "My records indicate that we are in a place called 'Equestria'. It's in your father's database, but little information is provided."
The conversation then transitioned back and forth between Aiden and Eva.
"How much damage have i taken?"
"Your ribs are broken, and your leg is fractured. Your energy level is at 35 percent, and if you spend some of your energy repairing your body, you will be down to 30 percent."
"Will i still have enough energy to do my workout?"
"Even if i told you no, you would still do it anyway."
Aiden chuckled. "You know me too well. Well, i guess before i work out i should heal up." With that, Aiden closed his eyes. His face scrunched up, then quivered with pain. After a few moment s and some grunts, Aiden relaxed. then, he did something Twilight didn't expect. He stood up. on his broken leg. He slipped the bandages off and stretched out, as if getting ready to exercise. "Before I start, I should probably get a fresh change of clothes."
He walked over to his bag and pulled out a small box. After he opened it, he pulled out a small round orb, pushed a button, and put it on the ground. A red light started flashing, and Aiden backed away from it. After a few seconds, a flash erupted from the orb, and it was replaced by a clothes-rack full of clothing meant for something large. Aiden picked black pants and a blank grey shirt. At the bottom of the clothes-rack was what looked like boxes for him to put shoes in, and he picked a pair of what looked like boot-style shoes. After making his selection, he pushed a red button on the side of the clothes-rack, and it intstantly warped back into an orb.
Twilight was interrupted by the shaking of her guard. She had forgotten that she had ordered him to get the meal ready, and she prepared to take it to him. As she walked down the stairs with the food, she was ready to ask him a whole new set of questions. But when she got down the stairs, something in the upper portion of the library started calling to her.
"Twilight! TWILIGHT!" It screamed. Suddenly, something came crashing down into the basement, right into Twilight. It was Rainbow Dash, and she had an urgent look on her face.
"Twilight, you have to come quick! 2 creatures appeared at Sweet Apple Acres, and they are threatening the entire farm! They already hurt Big Mac!" said Rainbow.
Twilight stood up and said, "calm down, Rainbow. what did these creatures look like?"
Rainbow Dash said, "They looked like...like..." she stopped and looked at Aiden, and with anger in her voice, said, "They looked like THAT!"
Applejack looked up to see a figure standing above her. It appeared to be another creature, but this one was different. This one had two swords instead of one, and his back was slightly turned to the other, one of its swords drawn halfway to block the other creatures blade. In its right hand was a curved metal stick, pointed at the other creature's knee. Blood dripped from the other creature's knee, and it fell back, clutching its knee as it rolled on the ground.
"AAUUGH! YOU SHOT ME!" screamed the creature. " Why didn't you just kill me?! It would have been less painful!"
The good creature put its sword away and put the curved stick in its pocket. "I only kill when it's necessary. Plus..." It looked back at Applejack and Applebloom and said, "There is a kid here, and she doesn't need to see death just yet."
The creature, which Applejack was very sure that it was a male, turned to them and bent to one knee. It grabbed Applejack and Applebloom, and lept to where Granny Smith was waiting with a relieved look on her face. It set them down and asked, "Are you alright?"
Applejack looked up at him and said, "Yeah, I'll be fine. But-"
Applebloom interrupted her. "My brother Big Mac is hurt! please, help him!"
The creature stood up and reached in his jacket pocket. He pulled out a small box with the medical symbol on it and said, "In that box is a spray bottle. Spray the liquid on his wound, and it should close. If there is internal bleeding, there is a bottle with some red liquid in it. Have him drink that, and It should heal up any internal bleeding."
Applejack took the box and told Applebloom to take care of Big Mac for her. Applebloom nodded, and ran towards where Big Mac was struck. "Sorry I was a bit late." said the creature.
"No, you were actually just in time." said Applejack.
"Well, you see, I coulda been here way earlier." He said, and pointed to his hair which was spiked up in a weird way. "But I had to stop and fix my hair; after all, I can't go into battle looking like a mess."
Applejack muttered, "He's just like Rarity; he needed to style his hair before he came and helped us..."
The creature looked at the evil creature, who was still wailing in pain. "Besides." He said. "The hero always waits until the last second, am I right?"
Applejack wasn't sure she understood, but if it meant this creature was on their side, she would agree with anything he said.
"AAUUUGGGH! This freakin hurts!" screamed the creature. "C57, I have to leave! I can't get anywhere on this leg! Freakin cheap shot!" With that, the creature reached for his wristband, and typed a few buttons. He held his hand out, and a beam emitted from his palm. it turned into a spiraling portal, and the creature pulled himself into the portal. After he got in, the portal closed, leaving only C57, the good creature, and the Apple family.
As if to symbolize the start of an epic battle, a light rain started to pour. "Thank goodness he's gone." said C57. "I don't think I could have resisted killing him myself with all that screaming." He held his blade up and said, " Now we can get on with our business. First off, I want to know your name and why you are here."
The good creature drew his two curved sticks out of his pocket and threw them on the ground. He pulled the larger stick off of his back and threw it on the ground as well. As he did, a sound emerged from his right sleeve. "You know you have less than 25% of your energy left. It would be wise to shoot him and end this quickly."
The creature responded, "It might be better, but it's not as fun." He drew both of his swords and held them at his sides. He looked at C57 and said, "I have many names. On some worlds, I'm called John. On some, I'm called Alex. On this one, I picked Aiden. You might know me as X-303. And as to why I'm here..." He paused and looked back at Applejack."...I'm just doing my job."
"Impossible, you can't be X-303. He would have destroyed me in a heartbeat." said C57.
Aiden smiled and said, "Why don't you come and find out?"
Neither of the two fighters moved for what seemed like hours. Finally, they both attacked, but the speed with which they fought was overwhelming. Applejack could barely keep up with their attacks. Within 10 seconds, 25 blows had been dealt between both of the warriors.
"Applejack! are you alright?" screamed a familiar voice. Applejack looked to the left to see Twilight and Rainbow rushing to her side. "Boy, am I glad to see two familiar faces. Now what in tarnation is going on here?"
Twilight responded, "I wish I knew. All I know is that those two are something called 'humans' and the one with dual swords is on our side."
Rainbow muttered, 'At least we hope he's on our side..." She then asked Applejack, "How's Big Mac? Is he alright?" As if to answer her question, Applebloom came rushing to her sister's side with a report that Big Mac was alright, and was trying to fight the fire at the barn.
The rain intensified, becoming a heavy downpour. However, the battle could still be seen between the two opposing fighters. Each time their swords collided, sparks flew, and sparks were flying everywhere. The fight was so intense, that the tension between the two fighters could be felt by the ponies, who were at least 30 feet away.
Finally, both fighters crossed blades, each trying to push each other back with their strength. Aiden had lost one of his swords, and was struggling to push against the strength of the one called C57. "Eeeeeerrgg...This is getting....too...intense..." said Aiden.
"Well, it was a good warm up," said C57. "However, If you were really X-303, you would have already gotten another sword. Good-bye."
"No....I... can't...lose..." said Aiden, and he started to buckle. He grunted for a few seconds, then smiled and looked at C57 and said, "Good acting, huh?"
C57 looked surprised. "What?!"
Aiden recovered, and quickly too. He took his right hand off of the end of his blade, and did something strange. He held his hand up, as if he was about to catch something, and a sphere of light formed in his hand. He tried to push it at C57's chest, but C57 dodged, and lept back several feet. The sphere flew past him and blew up several trees behind him.
"Eva, generate s-15 model." at that, a rod of light appeared in his hand, much in the shape of one of his short swords. When the light faded, The sword was back in his hand, and he was ready to fight again. "Eva, how much energy do i have left? I feel drained..." said Aiden. Eva responded, "You have less than 10%, I suggest you find an alternate source of energy."
Aiden looked back at the group of ponies and said, "Hey, you! The rainbow-colored one with the bad attitude!"
Rainbow sneered at him and said "What?"
Aiden said, "You told me you can manipulate the clouds, right? Well, can you make them generate lightning?"
Rainbow looked confused and said,"Yeah, but i don't see how that will help us."
AIden said, "Good. Get up there and strike me with lightning."
All of the group looked confused now. "Why?"
Aiden said, "Trust me, it'll-" He was cut off as a sword was rammed through his chest and out of his back. Blood flew out of his back as he dropped his swords and grabbed the black one that pierced his chest.
"Now i know you are a fake." said C57. "X-303 would know to never turn his face away from the enemy."
Twilight covered her eyes, and Applejack gasped and covered Applebloom's eyes, knowing it was over for the hero that saved them. C57 let go of the blade, confident that Aiden was not going to fight anymore.
Aiden stumbled back and fell on one knee. As blood slid down the handle and dripped onto the ground, Aiden said, "Thanks....for the sword....it makes....this a lot...easier..." He then proceeded to pull the sword from his chest.
C57 backed up in amazement at what he was seeing. Aiden looked back at Rainbow, who looked like she was about to lose breakfast, and said between gritted teeth, "What are you waiting for?! get ready to strike me!!"
Rainbow snapped out of her daze and flew towards the clouds. Aiden finished pulling the sword from his chest, and with a scream of pain, threw it to the side. Eva kept saying, "Warning! 5% energy! Energy levels critical!"
Aiden, panting now, said, "Eva, detach..." the wristband converted into a mobile vehicle, almost like a helicopter, and flew away, still giving off its warning. Aiden raised his right hand to the sky and pointed two fingers up at the cloud Rainbow was near.
C57 said, "This...this isn't possible...the ability of regeneration is only inherit in S and X class Augments...that means....are you really?"
Aiden said, "NOW!" and when he did, Rainbow kicked the cloud, and a bolt of lightning struck towards Aiden. however, it didn't kill him; rather, he seemed to absorb the lightning bolt. He held his right hand up again and, smiling, said, "I have you now." He formed the sphere in his hand, and rushed at C57, but this time, with lightning speed.
He hit C57 in the chest, and the sphere sent him flying. After 10 yards or so, the sphere, which carried C57, grew a point and penetrated through C57's chest. Then, the beam flew straight through, out his back, and blew up several apple trees behind him.
As he and Aiden both went down, C57 said, "...This is....the Excecution Spear....he really is....X-303...."
Aiden started to open his eyes. He heard a voice call out to some princess, and heard the scurrying of several creatures. When he opened his eyes fully, he saw 3 familiar faces, and 3 new ones. Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack were there, but the three new ones were different colors. One was white with purple hair, one was pink with even pinker hair, and the last was yellow with pink hair. The last one was rather scared of Aiden, and he could understand why. After all, she's probably never seen a human before.
Aiden sat up and stretched his body out. He yawned and asked, "How long was I out?"
Twilight responded, "A day and a half. You were collapsed in the field after that weird ball of light shot from your hand. Your armband, Eva, reattached to you and said you were down to 2% energy and you were in critical condition. Big Mac was kind enough to carry you here and place you in this bed, where the doctor has been monitoring your status."
The medical pony in the background looked aggravated at both Twilight and Aiden. "I wish somepony would have woke me up BEFORE her Highness decided to let you run off and play hero. I'm still astonished you could walk on that broken leg..."
Aiden was about to say something, but then his stomach growled loudly. He laughed and said, "It's been awhile since I ate or drank anything. Could one of you reach in my bag and grab my canteen and a big red bag in there?"
Before anyone could speak, the pink pony dashed to the bag and said, "Ooh! Ooh! I got it! I wonder what's in here!" In a flash, the red bag and canteen was in his hands. Aiden looked at the excited pony and said, "Thanks, um..."
The pink pony exclaimed, "I'm Pinkie Pie! These are all my friends! Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy!" In order, they all said hello. "What's your name?"
Aiden looked at them and told them, "Aiden."
Twilight said, "But one of those other human's called you something else...i think it was..."
Aiden interrupted her," X-303. That was my military designation. I'll explain the whole thing, but first..." He stopped to take a long drink of water,"...I'm starving!" He opened the bag, reached in, and pulled out several colorful bead-looking spheres, and started popping them in his mouth one by one. He had a look of relief on his face, and he started to relax a little bit.
Applejack looked at the beads and asked, "What are these? some kind of super cool, human survival food?"
Aiden replied, "No, not exactly. But they are probably the greatest of human inventions."
Twilight asked in wonder, "What are they?"
Aiden responded with one word: "Skittles."
"Skittles?" Asked Pinkie. "That's a funny name! They look delicious! can I try one?"
Aiden picked a red one out of his hand and gave it to Pinkie. She took the red bead and, without hesitation. Threw it into her mouth. The moment she started to chew, her eyes grew wide with amazement. She finished the bead and told the other ponies, "That was amazing! Its an awesome candy! You girls HAVE to try it!" And before they could respond, Pinkie grabbed the handful from Aiden and shoved one of the candies in everypony's mouth, including the young Applebloom in the corner. The group started to chew, and all of them were amazed by the results. Even Rainbow seemed suprised by the candy.
Aiden chuckled a little. "It's a shame you don't have these here. They are my favorite."
After the ponies finished off their candy, Rarity scolded Pinkie, saying, "That was not very lady-like! Stealing another one's things!"
Aiden quieted her saying, "It's all right, Rarity. She was just excited. I forgive her." Aiden then turned to Twilight and said,"Before I begin my story, is there somewhere I can shower? Surely I can't be the only one who notices I stink." Rarity nodded her head in agreement, and Twilight pointed him to the bathing room upstairs. When he saw the size of the tub, however, Aiden asked, "Is there someplace with a bigger tub?"
Rarity piped in, "My house has an absolutely magnificent bath, and a shower is included! After what you did to help our friends, I'd be more than willing to let you use my shower!"
When she mentioned the incident, Applejack said, "I almost forgot! Applebloom wanted to say somethin' to ya, Aiden." She turned to Applebloom and motioned for her to come close. Applebloom walked up next to Applejack and, looking at Aiden, said, "Thank you for all your help. If it wasn't for you, we all would've died, and my big brother wouldn't have lived. You were a real hero."
Aiden looked at Applebloom and said with a smile on his face, "Don't thank me, I was just doing my job. Who you really need to thank is your big sister. Without her courage, you probably wouldn't have made it. However, she threw herself in danger's way without even considering her own safety. She's the real hero."
Applebloom turned and hugged her sister, and Rarity, Twilight, and Aiden left to see if they could get Aiden that shower. He brought one of the boxes with him, and followed Rarity and Twilight from a few steps back. Several ponies stopped what they were doing to see the new creature that they had heard so much about, this "human" who saved the entire Apple family. They had to run the rest of the way to Rarity's house, because Lyra got a look at the human and frantically started chasing them, trying to "Interview" Aiden.
When they got to Rarity's house, Aiden asked Eva, "How much energy do i have?"
The wristband responded, "58% energy saved up, another day of bedrest will fully charge you." Rarity was confused, and Twilight had to explain that the wristband could talk. After they directed Aiden to the bathroom, The waited a good 30 minutes before he finally came back down again. He was dressed in black jeans, black sneakers with the words "All-star" written in a circle on his shoes, a white button up shirt with a black vest buttoned up. The sleeves were rolled up and his hair was spiked up yet again.
Rarity whispered to Twilight, "Well, he may be a hero, but he picks the strangest clothing."
Aiden turned and said, "I'll choose to take that as a compliment." Rarity was surprised that he could hear her, even from that distance.
"Sorry it took so long. Since I already stank, I figured I'd get a quick workout session done, and doing 1000 vertical one-arm push-ups isn't very easy to do in 25 minutes." said Aiden. Both Twilight and Rarity looked at him skeptically. To prove it was hard, Aiden flipped over, balanced himself on his hands so he was vertical, and lifted his left hand behind his back so that all his weight was being supported by his right arm. He then pushed himself down and back up a couple of times, and when he was satisfied that he had adequately surprised the ponies, he got back up and said, "Let's return to the library. I figure I owe you all an explanation, considering the trouble I put you through."
They returned to the library, surprised that they hadn't seen Lyra try to follow them. When they arrived there, all of the other ponies were gathered around the table in the center of the library, with two very important guest at the head of the table. One of the guests was much larger than the other ponies, and she had a dark blue body with sparkling dark blue hair. Aiden instantly liked her better than the other, the largest of the ponies he had seen. She was white, with a picture of a sun on her flank, and her hair shimmered in three different colors. She was about 6 feet tall, as tall as Aiden, and obviously carried some respect.
A large amount of guards became uneasy at his presence, but the large one calmed them down. "It's alright." She said, with a gentle yet commanding voice. "We have no need to fear an ally."
"Princess!" exclaimed Twilight. She rushed over to the Princess' side and bowed to her. Rarity did the same, but from a distance, like the other ponies.
"You don't have to do that, my dear. After all, you are a princess as well." She turned to look at Aiden and continued. "I received your letter explaining the situation a while ago. But when I heard that this creature saved some of my loyal subjects, any doubt in my mind that he was evil was erased." She nodded her head at Aiden. "You have my thanks."
"People tend to be thankin' me a lot lately, your Highness. It's a little unsettling." Aiden said. "I was just doing what was right and what I was created to do. Nothing more. If you don't mind me asking what your names are, I would appreciate it."
The large pony replied, "My name is Princess Celestia. This is my younger sister, Princess Luna. Together, we co-rule Equestria, my sister ruling over the night, while I rule over the day. Now please, I inquire your name."
Aiden replied, "I chose Aiden for this world."
Celestia looked confused. "This world? I'm afraid I do not understand. Although......." She thought for a second, and then, as if remembering something, said, "We had an incident some 500 years ago. Several creatures called 'humans' came through. Now that i think about it...One of them looked just like you, but a little older. He caused a terrible catastrophe..." Celestia let her thought die.
"500 years, huh? Wow, you're even older than I am, No offense. And the man you are describing more than likely is my father. Allow me to explain my story. I promised these 6 here an explanation."
Celestia nodded for him to proceed.
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I have no official name. My designation number is X-303, and I am an X-class Augment. I am 346 years old, and I was specially created for the purpose of protecting the innocent. This all seems a little confusing, though, so let me start at the very beginning.
I come from a different reality where human technology has advanced farther than anything I've ever seen. We were a prosperous people, and we had ambitions to spread our legacy amongst the stars. With the advancement in technology, we soon found it difficult to live on Earth, so humans began to colonize the other planets across the galaxy. What we discovered, though, was far more devastating than we could have imagined.
They called themselves the Shok'Rai. They were aliens, and they had been watching humanity for some time. They saw how advanced we had become, and they were afraid of what we could do, so before we became a threat, they decided to attack us.
For years, humanity fought the Shok'Rai with everything they had, but it wasn't enough. Finally, after 10 years of tireless war, My father, a brilliant scientist named Edward Kaeson, developed what he called the 'reality drive'. This technology allowed him to jump freely between realities parallel to our own. He then proposed an idea to the human government. What if we could form the ultimate soldier by combining the DNA of different super-creatures from different realities with our own human DNA? originally, the plan was to form basic foot soldiers stronger than the average human.
When my Father got approval, he immediately began his genetic research into making a way to fuse different DNA samples with human DNA, giving them those abilities and still retaining their humanity. After several more years, the first batch of "Augments" were released on the battlefield. These augmented human beings were the perfect soldier. They were lab-grown super-soldiers, ranging from A-class to C-class, the highest class of that type. Abilities included superhuman strength and speed, an increase in the 5 main senses, and fighting skills beyond human comprehension. The had inhibitor chips installed in the base of their brain, which halted any and all emotion, and took away their free-will. They were perfect, fearing nothing, and showing no mercy.
The Shok'Rai were no match for us, and were completely wiped out. However, once the war was over, the human government didn't cease creation of the Augments. With the new powers they had, plus the ability to travel to different realities, human arrogance came into play. Our government believed we were the ultimate fighting force, and a program to create even greater Augments was launched in secret. My father, who was nearing the age of 50 by this time, invented a machine that could infuse new DNA samples with existing human DNA, still leaving the human features with the finished product. With this, my Father discovered new worlds, and infused their powers with him, becoming the first X-class Augment. We considered him even greater than an X-class, sometimes calling him a "Z-class". His greatest discovery was a reality of people called "the Immortals". These people were humans whose cells could regenerate themselves, thereby making them never dying of old age or disease. Also, if they lost a limb, their cells would auto-regenerate, and that limb would slowly grow back. When combined with a DNA sample that allows the instant regeneration of a limb, you have what appears to be an immortal being.
This project continued for another 50 years. Several more Augments were created, all with different abilities. Only 100 X-class augments were created, all that barely survived the gene infusing. Out of 100 X-class Augments, only 5 were left alive. However, those that did survive had extraordinary powers. Their fighting skills were unmatched by anything ever seen, believing that a certain race of warriors had everything to do with that. They had the ability of regeneration abilities come from a different race of beings, which I can't remember their name now. Each of the 5 augments had different abilities, ranging from the ability to control fire to turning into shadows. And the X-class were the only Augments who didn't have inhibitor chips.
We had special military training, but I was the symbol of the most envy. First off, me and my older brother were the only ones related by blood to the actual creator, whom i call father. Second, I was a special experiment. from an early point, i was actually raised by Father instead of my the military. Sure, i was taught to fight, and I still went through training, but I was the one who actually had a loving Father who taught me everything I knew. because of this, I was considered weak amongst my peers.
We each had nicknames for each other. Mine was Saber, because I specialized in sword and other blade combat.My abilities include superhuman strength, speed, heightened senses, and the ability to generate and absorb energy. However, through some defects, My body acts like a battery. If I lose too much energy, then I will actually die.
My closest friend, the only one who didn't envy me, was named Lance. As you can tell by his name, he specialized in spear combat. His abilities were like mine, except the whole energy part. His special ability was the ability to control and generate fire.
Next in this line-up was Terra. as his name suggests, He had the ability to control all forms of earth, and he specialized in hand-to-hand combat.
Then we have Hawk. Her beauty was as great as her aim. Even I was afraid of her deadly accuracy. Her ability included foresight, in the aspect that she could see every possible situation that could happen within 10 seconds of it happening, and act on the most likely decision.
My father was the next in this line-up. He had the exact same abilities as me, but something was different about him. For starters, his hair was always spiked up, and it was pure white. His eyes were also blood red, and he never ran out of energy. He seemed to have an infinite pool of energy flowing from him.
Finally, we have Shadow. He was the scariest of them all. He had the ability to absorb other people's ability and use it for his own. He got his nickname because he absorbed the ability to turn into and control shadows. He also had a lust for power, which begins the part where I tell you of the downfall of humanity.
Just when the project was nearing completion, Shadow went insane. He became obsessed with the idea of controlling the other worlds for himself. Somehow, he found a way to halt the process of the inhibitor chips, and he freed the other lower class Augments from their slavery. Enraged, the Augments followed him only, destroying any and all things in their path. When his army reached Earth, there was nothing we could do. He gave a choice for any X-class augments to join, and any who refused would die. My father opened the reality drive for as many people to escape, and stayed behind to fight off as many as he could.
Since then, I have been jumping from world to world, trying to warn them of Shadow's plans. Each time, though, I am unable to save that world, and his conquest has just barely scratched the surface. for 210 years I have been doing this, and it appears that your world is next.
All of the ponies were astonished by his story. The very words he spoke seemed too incredible. I mean, what creature lives to be 346 anyway?
After a few moments, Aiden held up his right hand and showed his wristband. "This thing is called an EVA unit, or Electronic Voice Assistant. In it are several different devices. Usually, an EVA unit will only have a reality drive and a database of knowledge. Mine, however, is a special kind, developed by my Father. First off, mine has a personality of its own. Second, it can transform into a smaller or larger wristband, as to save space. Devices on this one include not only a reality drive and database, but an invention my Father only used as a prototype. He called it the Matter Conversion Beam. This beam can take an object and break it down into its base molecules. It is then stored in a section of Eva's memory, and can be accessed at any time. I can then make anything equal to or less than the original amount of molecules paid. For example."
He held his arm out and said, "Eva, generate S-15 model." The wristband transformed into its full gauntlet mode, and in a flash of light, a sword was created in Aiden's hand. The ponies sat in awe, unbelieving what they just saw. Aiden then said, "Break down selected object." In another flash of light, the sword disappeared, and Eva turned back into a normal wristband.
"That is soooooo cool!" Said Pinkie Pie. "Do me next! It looks fun!"
Fluttershy started to say in a low voice, "Oh no, Pinkie! That would be awful!"
Aiden chuckled and said, "It doesn't break down living creatures, as far as I'm aware of. The largest thing I've broken down is a rock."
Celestia looked at Aiden and said, "I need to have a discussion with the princesses. Will you watch my subjects outside?"
Aiden responded, "Of course, It won't be any trouble." Rainbow Dash looked angry that she had to be outside with him, but she didn't want to disobey the princess, so she followed all of the group outside.
The only ponies in the library were the three princesses and the guards. Celestia began by asking Luna and Twilight, "What do you make of this? Should we be concerned about this?"
Twilight said, "I don't know. He seems to be able to do what he says, and I don't see any reason he would lie to us. I wouldn't say I trust him, but he did save us from those two other humans."
Luna asked, "What did happen to the other human? The one you said was fatally wounded?"
Twilight responded, "He opened up a portal and crawled through, but with the damage Aiden did, I doubt he will be back."
Celestia thought for a moment. She looked back at the princesses and said, "I don't fully believe in his story.It just seems too incredible. We won't know if he's telling the truth yet until we find some proof. If what he says is true, then Equestria is nowhere near ready for an attack on that scale. We would be wiped out, even with my power. I need proof what he says is true. Luna, I need you to watch his dreams tonight and see if you can gather any information. Twilight, I'll need you to see to it that you get to know him better. If he is indeed an ally, then I want to be able to get to know him better."
Both of the princesses agreed. Celestia and Luna prepared to leave, and the rest of the group came back in. When they left, all of the other ponies went back to their homes, leaving Aiden, Twilight, and Spike in the library. Aiden asked, "Do you guys have anything to eat? I'm getting a little hungry here, and Skittles don't really hit the spot."
Spike said, "Same here. I'm starving!"
Twilight rolled her eyes and said, "You're always hungry Spike. I'll have one of the guards make something, but while they do, I have some questions for Aiden."
They walked over to the table in the center of the room and sat. Twilight ordered one of the guards to run down to Sugar Cube Corner and pick up some cupcakes and maybe some drinks on the way. When he left, Twilight let the questions begin.
Twilight: "When you first came here your arm was missing. I assume you used your abilities to....grow it back?
Aiden: "Yes. Though my arm would have grown back on it's own within an hour or two, I used some of my energy to speed up the process."
Twilight:"When you say you can absorb energy, do you mean that you can break energy down and store it? Like what you did with the lightning?"
Aiden:"Yes, I can break energy down. However, I can't seem to break down solar energy. I can break down electricity, heat, and radiation, but not solar energy."
Twilight: "You said that you are a seemingly immortal being. Is there actually a way to....well, kill you?"
Aiden: "Yes. I can either run completely out of energy, or i can lose my head. Literally."
After several more questions, The guard arrived with the treats. Aiden and Spike lit up when they saw the cupcakes, and they both dug in. Aiden looked up with eyes wide and said,"Who made these? Whoever they are, they know how to make a damn good cupcake."
At that, the wristband made a noise, and Aiden reeled back. "OWWW!" he exclaimed.
Eva said, 'Watch your language, X-303! It's not attractive!"
Aiden looked angrily at Eva and said, "Who made you my mom?! I hate it when you shock me like that! Jeez!"
Eva replied, "If you would watch your mouth, I wouldn't have to shock you."
After the cupcakes and a few more questions, Aiden stood up. He said, "Which way is the farm again? It's midday, still plenty of time to help. I figure with all the damage those goons caused, I should at least help with clean-up." Twilight pointed him in the direction, and without a second glance, he was off, walking towards the farm. He got several strange looks from the other ponies, and even a few questions asked by Lyra.
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It was around 8 P.M. when Aiden returned. You could tell he had been working, because his white shirt was coated in a layer of dirt. He said," I know, I look horrid. Rarity already pointed that out to me. I'll shower in the morning, as for now, I'm sleeping." And with that, he went down the stairs and didn't come back up.
Several minutes later, several knockes were at the Library door. first off, Pinkie came in, then Rarity, then Fluttershy, then Applejack. They all had a story to tell Twilight.
Pinkie: "Today I was working at Sugar Cube corner and Aiden walked by! He saw me working and thanked me for the magnificent cupcakes, saying he got in trouble for liking them too much! I then asked if he wanted to help me make some, and he said sure, and boy oh boy, does he make some good cupcakes! I really had fun, and he's fun for a human!"
Rarity: " I was in my shop, devastated by the worst. Possible. Thing. I had no inspiration and no desire to work. Then, Aiden walked by, and saw my despair. When I explained the situation, he pulled a tablet of some sort out and ordered it to find books describing any and all styles for fashion. He gave me the tablet and let me use it, and left. And his choices were absolutely magnificent! The dresses and clothes these humans wear were absolutely gorgeous! I have to thank him and return the tablet."
Fluttershy: " I was taking care of my little critters, and Aiden walked by. I was so nervous to see him, I nearly ran and hid. But one of my critters ran up to him, and he did the strangest thing. He started petting the little bunny, and pretty soon, he was playing with all the little critters. He asked if I minded that he was stealing the show, and i told him that it was alright. After that, he thanked me for letting him stay. When he left, the critters seemed sad that he'd gone. Whatever it is about him, the critters trust him. If they do, then i think he's trustworthy."
Applejack: "I tell ya, he sure is handy. He came up to the farm, willin' to help with anything we needed. First, we had to clean up the burned remains of the barn, and then get a new one raised. We said it would take a week; He said It would take him a day. Sure enough, within an hour, he had the entire wreckage cleared up and ready for a new barn. While Big Mac was tryin to carry some of the big pieces of wood to get the barn set up, Aiden decided to help. Those large boards are over 100 pounds each, and even Big Mac has trouble pickin' em up, yet Aiden carried 10 at a time like it was nothin'! Within 2 more hours, he had all the sides and the roof built and ready. I tell ya, he's a fast, reliable worker, that's for sure!"
After all the stories were told and the ponies left, Twilight sat down, contemplating all that she'd just heard. She was given the task of figuring out if he was trustworthy or not. If he wasn't one of the good guys, then why would he help so much? Why would he be so kind? He was a fighter, after all. A soldier, trained to kill without mercy. That's what all soldiers did. But not this one. This human was strange. He was a warrior, yes; but he was not like any warrior Twilight had seen. First off, Warriors don't make cupcakes or pet bunnies. They don't understand fashion or help clear messes. All they do is fight and kill. If Aiden wasn't an ally, why was he acting so much like a friend?
(Optional) : The Dreams of A Human
(This chapter is an optional side story. It is not significant to the story, but if you wish to read, I won't stop you.)
After receiving her orders from her sister, Luna immediately departed for Canterlot. She had to be ready for when the human fell asleep. Being the princess of the night, she knew when everyone was sleeping, but this was different. She had never tried to watch the dreams of a human. Was it even possible?
Night came through quickly, and around 8:00 P.M., Luna began trying to find the human's dreams. She searched and searched, until finally, she found a dream that she didn't recognize. She started to focus, trying to see with her mind if this was in fact the human's dream. When she confirmed it was, she focused all of her energy into visualizing his dream. When she finally got through, she was instantly shocked.
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Luna was standing on a hill on top of a ruined city. The city, however, was under siege, from ships in the sky, firing large blasts of magic, killing hundreds of humans. Several more humans were fighting with each other, and the ones dressed in strange black uniforms always beat the other humans. they showed no mercy as they cut, shot, and hacked through men, women, even children. One human, though, that was dressed in black, fought against the others. He had two swords, and was desperately trying to save one little child, a boy. As the flying ships kept firing, buildings collapsed all around. In shock, Luna was desperately trying to get a grip on everything that was happening. She thought she recognized the one human, as he swept the child in his arms, covered in blood, and continued fighting.
"Horrifying, isn't it?" said a familiar voice behind her. She spun around to see the human, Aiden, standing behind her. He walked up next to her and crossed his arms. "I have dreamed dreams like this for a long time. You would think I get used to it, but still..."
With tears in her eyes, Luna asked, "Why would you dream such horrifying dreams?"
Aiden looked at her and said, "You are sad. Good. I would personally punch anyone in the face who could look at something like this and not feel emotion. What I want to know is, how are you in my dreams? I assume it has something to do with being the 'Princess of the Night', and I overheard the three of you talking about watching my dreams. I could have told you to stay away."
Luna responded, "That doesn't answer my question. Why would you're dreams be filled with so much evil?"
Aiden said, "Look at that one soldier fighting the rest. The one with the kid."
She looked at the soldier, who even with the burden of a child, continued fighting his way through the enemy and winning.
"That's me." said Aiden. "I'm not sure about your kind, but when human's dream, They are either enticed by good and pleasurable things, are haunted by their worst fears, or are reminded of their mistakes. This dream is a memory. This was one of the more recent worlds I failed to protect, over 70 years ago."
Luna watched with tears in her eyes as the battle raged on. Aiden, who had put the child in a safe place, continued to fight, no matter how hard it got.
"I had been on this version of earth for 25 years, trying to prepare their military for the war. But in my foolishness, I forgot that no matter how many times a human tries to help another human, they will end up eventually try to kill one another. I gave them technology, and they used it to destroy themselves. This battle would have been won, had the human race banded together instead of being selfish."
One of the soldiers found the hiding place that the child was in. Luna watched with the greatest amount of sadness as the fighting Aiden turned and watched the evil soldier stab the human child in the chest. The fighting Aiden ran towards the soldier and quickly did the same. He held the child in his arms, and he held the young boy's hand as he slowly slipped away. Finally, the child took his last breath, and his arms went limp. Aiden let out a scream of agony, and the rest of the dream went completely black.
"What happened?" asked Luna, as she wiped the tears away from he face.
Aiden said, "It was the end of the memory. I have no recollection of what happened after that. When I came to, There was nothing but corpses everywhere. Burning wreckage from destroyed ships And the bodies of both Augments and humans lay everywhere. There was no hope for the people of that Earth, so I left. Ever since then, I have been haunted by the nightmares of my failures."
After he finished explaining, a ring of men appeared around the pair. Some looked human, some looked not human, and some were far to strange.
Luna asked, "Who are these men?" She looked at the line-up. One was a man with rather wild, spiked up hair. His eyes were cold and angry. He had strange armor on, and he had a tail like a monkey. Another man had white hair and blue eyes, and he was rather muscular. Another was completely green, with no hair at all, and had antennae on his forehead. The men, who were around 10 in total, were gathered around them, all staring, but not making a motion at all.
"I have no idea who these men are. I've seen them quite often in my dreams, and never once have I figured that out. I like to consider them as my 'blood donors'; that is to say, they are the ones who I gained my powers from."
Suddenly, the ring disappeared, and was replaced by the scene on the hilltop again. However, this time, the battle was over. It was as Aiden described it. Burning wreckage was everywhere. Corpses littered the city, now completely reduced to a pile of ash. There was some movement among the destruction, and Aiden sat up from the rubble, completely covered in blood and soot. He looked around and after a few moments, let out a scream of agony,and started cursing and swearing revenge. He then dropped to his knees and just sat there, weeping. Luna turned to see a small tear trickle down his face.
"The dream is over." He said. He turned and looked at Luna, who was shedding so many tears, and said, "If you want to leave and report this, go right ahead. Just know, if we don't find a way to stop this, then this is what your world will look like."
With that, Luna left the dream, and opened her eyes in her room in the Canterlot palace. The dream had been so sad and vivid, The rest of the night she just sat there, weeping.
"Like me, you say?" said Aiden curiously.
"Yeah, like you! Although, when I'm through with you, you will look nothing alike!" Screamed Rainbow Dash, and she flew towards Aiden with a quick burst of speed, ready to take him down.
"Rainbow, No!" screamed Twilight, but she was too late.
Suddenly, Rainbow hit the wall. Wait, the wall? Rainbow seemed to be flying towards Aiden, but she hit the wall behind him. But, Twilight didn't remember seeing him move, and either way, he never would have been able to move fast enough to dodge Rainbow.
As Dash started to recover, Aiden walked slowly over to her, and raised his sleeve, asking, "Did they have a tattoo just like this?" Dash looked at him, and then looked down at the tattoo. She nodded her head, and struggled to get up.
"Crap." said Aiden. "He's moving even faster than I'd anticipated." He turned to Twilight and said, "I assume this 'Sweet Apple Acres' is a farm of some sorts. Which direction is it?"
Twilight replied, "I can't tell from this basement, we will have to get above. What do you plan to do? And who is this 'He' you made mention of?"
Aiden walked over to his bag and pulled out the box again. He pulled out one of the orbs and activated it. He said to Twilight, "You might want to stand back." The clothes-rack appeared again, and this time, he picked a black leather jacket that had some loops in the back. He deactivated the orb, and pulled another one out. This time, though, a weapons-rack is what came out of the orb. He pulled out Two small swords, each about 2 1/2 feet long, and slipped them through two of the loops. He then pulled one of the curved sticks that he'd warned Twilight about off of the rack, and checked it for something. satisfied that it was working, he put it it the last loop on the back of his jacket, and deactivated the orb. finally, he walked to his bag and pulled out two more of the curved sticks, each smaller than the last big one. he put them in his pockets, and looked satisfied with his work.
"Oh, crap. I forgot." Aiden said, and took off his jacket. As he set the jacket on his bed, he looked at the wristband and said, "Eva, full gauntlet mode." at that command, the wristband made a noise, like a machine working and changing. the wristband started to stretch and assemble, disassemble and grow, than reassemble, until it went all the way to his elbow. once it was done, all of his right arm, from his fingers to his elbow, was covered in a battle wristband. He saw Twilight's look of amazement and said, "Pretty cool, huh?" He turned his attention back to the wristband and said, "Eva, status on your guantlet."
The wristband responded, " energy readout fully operational. matter storage at full capacity. Battle visor fully charged..." She said many other things that Twilight didn't understand, and she was very curious as to what Aiden really was.
Finally, Aiden put his jacket back on and said, "All right, take me up above."
Twilight asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Aiden said, "No time to explain, we need to hurry!" At that, he started to run towards the stairs. Twilight followed, yelling to the guards to let him through. When they got to the main floor, Spike was just waking up, and had no idea what was going on. Frankly, Twilight had no idea what was going on, but she didn't want him to worry anymore.
When they got outside, Aiden looked up at the sky. The sky was dark, and Twilight remembered that there was supposed to be a huge storm today. "Eva, what's the weather look like today?" said Aiden to the wristband.
The wristband responded, "A huge storm has been predicted. Almost guaranteed thunderstorm." Aiden looked somewhat disappointed. "If only we could somehow get that lightning to hit around the farm."
Rainbow chimed in, "I could get the strongest clouds to the farm, but I don't see why I should help you..."
Aiden looked at her and said, "If you want your friends to live, you'll help me. Otherwise, we will die before I could even get to hate that attitude."
Dash looked at Twilight. "Do what he suggests, if you can. I'll help any way that I can too." said Twilight.
Aiden said, "You can point me in the direction of the farm."
Twilight showed him the direction of the farm, and Aiden looked at Eva and asked, "How much energy will i have left once i get there?"
Eva responded, "Less than 25 percent." Aiden smirked and said, "It's been a while since I had a fight like this. I'm not gonna lie, I feel excited." At that, he ran, ran faster than anything should be able to run. By the time Twilight had noticed he was gone, he was already near the edge of Ponyville and on his way to Sweet Apple Acres.
Twilight and Dash flew up into the sky, and Dash said, "I hope your new 'friend' is as willing as he claims to be."
Twilight looked toward where he ran and said, "Yeah....me too."
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Meanwhile, at the farm
Big Mac lay on the ground, stabbed through the shoulder by one of the two creatures. They walked slowly toward the group, smiling as they walked. In one hand they each held a long, black sword, and they had the same mark on their right arm. They had chased the whole Apple family into the field, after setting their barn on fire. Big Mac had tried to stop them, and he paid for it by being stabbed by those things. As they walked toward the frightened group, Applejack Got in front, ready to protect Granny Smith and Applebloom at all costs, despite her fear.
The lead creature chuckled and said, "Well,well, C57. One of them has heart after all!"
The one the creature called C57 said, "This is such a waste of our time. They send us on a simple scouting mission, and we are faced with simpletons like these? We could take on the entire planet by ourselves!"
The lead creature said, "Why don't you wait here, I'll have my fun with these creatures." The creature then turned it's attention to Applejack and said, "Run."
Applejack didn't need a second invitation. She turned and said, "Run y'all!" to them, and picked Granny Smith up to help her. She made sure Applebloom was in front, and made sure that Granny could keep up.
She turned to look back at the creature, and it was getting even closer. "Run faster, Applebloom! I don't know what in tarnation this thing is, but I don't intend to stick around and find out!"
Then, disaster struck. Applebloom got her hindleg stuck under a root, and fell. Applejack stopped, turned around, and ran back for Applebloom, just as the creature caught up to her. Knowing that she would not be able to get Applebloom out in time, Applejack covered her with her body, just as the creature raised it's sword for the final kill.
Cringing at what she knew was going to happen next, she quickly yelled, "I love ya' little sis'!" And prepared for the worst. She closed her eyes, and heard the clang of metal on metal and the sound of thunder exploding in her ear.