Taken
Cadence yawned, as she slowly got up from her bed. She had a warm smile, as she looked out the window.
What a nice day. Cadence thought. This might just be the day for.... Her thoughts trailed off, as she looked at the small clock on the desk. Her train was going to be here in a hour.
"I SLEPT IN!!!!" Cadence shouted, getting up from her bed, then rushing down the stairs. Once she was down, she saw that Twilight was still sleeping, and still had Zachary in her wing. She couldn't help but to let out a little "awww" At the sight, but she shook her head, remembering that she could miss the train to the Crystal Empire of she didn't hurry.
"Twilight! Wake up." Cadence shouted, shaking the mare softly. Twilight began to open her eyes, and she looked up at Cadence.
"Cadence.... What are you doing?" Twilight asked, carefully getting up, and rubbing her eyes. "You're going to wake Zachary up...." She yawned, but then she felt Cadences hooves on her.
"Twilight, now is not the time for sleeping!" Cadence shouted. "My train ride leaves in less than a hour!" This made Twilight fully awake.
"Cadence, hurry and get ready, and I'll make sure Zachary is ready too!" Twilight said. Zachary began to stir, moving a little, than opening his eyes.
"Twilight, what's...." Zachary was cut off by Twilight.
"Zachary, today we are in a morning rush! I'll fix you a bowl of cereal, but you have to hurry and get dressed." Twilight said. Zachary nodded, before going upstairs to get some fresh cloths on. Twilight ran into the kitchen, and went over to the kitchen cabinets. She got a bowl, and the cereal out. She put it in the bowl, as Zachary came back down, with Cadence.
"Hey, so I got cereal, if you want to have that before we go...." Twilight said. Cadence nodded her head.
"Yeah, I'll have some, just as long as I don't miss the ride back to the empire." Cadence said, with a smile accompanying her face. She sat down, and the three of them ate their breakfast quickly. Once they were finished, Twilight levitated all the bowls from the table, and quickly went to the sink to wash them later.
"Alright, lets get going, before we do end up being late." Twilight said, levitating Zachary on her back. "Hold on." After that, she began to run out the door, along with Cadence, who was levitating her bag.
"How long do we have until the train leaves?" Cadence asked, as they were jogging, as for Zachary to not fall off.
"Um, well lets see.... I think we should get there in ten minutes, so you defiantly won't miss your ride." Twilight said, and Cadence smiled, as they slowed down to a walk. As they were walking by, ponies that saw them were bowing.
"There is no need to bow, everypony." Twilight said, reassuringly waving a hoof at them. They all stopped their bowing, and went back to what they were doing before. After walking for a few more minutes, and having a little conversation, they all made it to the train station.
"Well, it looks like we have finally made it." Twilight said, as they walked up the stairs to the station.
"Oh, come on, please?" The voice of Applebloom seemed to be beg.
"No, you are all WAY too young to be conductors." The voice of a stallion said, with a gruff voice.
"But it looks so cool to control a train, besides, we could get our cutie marks." The voice of Scootaloo complained. Twilight, with Zachary and Cadence, all looked over, and saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were talking to the pony who was the conductor.
"What's going on?" Twilight asked, with a look of curiosity.
"These filly's want to try and ride the train to the Crystal Empire for their cutie marks!" The conductor replied. "I'm trying to tell them that their too young, but they just wont listen to me." The CMC'S looked up at Twilight, with pleading eyes.
"Twilight, can you please convince him that we can try to control the train?" Applebloom asked. Twilight shook her head.
"Sorry girls, but you're not experienced enough to drive a train." Twilight said.
"But what's the worst that could happen?" Scootaloo asked. "I mean, there is only one railroad, so the train couldn't crash." Twilight gave a playful giggle to their logic.
"Girls, it's not that simple." Twilight stated. "Sure, there might only be one track, but you have to make sure that..." And then Twilight went on to explain why being a conductor is not as easy as it seems. The CMC'S slowly, but surly began to understand, as they nodded their heads.
"Wow, who knew?" Sweetie Belle asked, as Twilight chuckled.
"Well, at least you know now." Twilight said, with a soft, but stern look. "Just, try something that doesn't involve jobs that only adult ponies can do, alright?" The Cutie Mark Crusaders nodded their heads, before they noticed that Zachary and Cadence was with them.
"Princess Cadence!" They shouted, as they bowed down to the princess. She giggled, and gave them a warm smile.
"You may rise, young ones." Cadence said, with a giggle. The CMC'S then turned their attention to Zachary, who was at Twilights side.
"Hey, Zachary." Scootaloo said. "How's it going?" Zachary, who was in his own thoughts about other things, jumped at this.
"Oh, I um..... I'm sorry." Zachary said, with an apologetic tone.
"No, it's alright, we didn't mean to scare you." Scootaloo said, with a smile. "How have you been doing, though?"
"I've...... Been alright." Zachary said. Twilight wrapped her wing around him.
"Zachary just had a really bad nightmare last night, that's all....." Twilight said, with a soft look. "He's been through a lot."
The CMC'S then put on sad expressions.
"We're really sorry to hear that." Sweetie Belle said. "Hey, maybe if it's alright with Twilight, you can hang out with us for a little bit, ya know, to cheer him up." Twilight seemed to like this idea.
"That's fine with me, as long as it's fine with Zachary." Twilight said, looking down at him. He nodded.
"I guess that I can do that....." Zachary said, and Twilight gave him a small pat on the back.
"Alright, me and Cadence will be over here if you need anything." She said, as they began to walk off. "Don't go too far, alright." Zachary turned, and nodded. Twilight then looked at Cadence, and sighed. The tiredness in her eyes was very obvious to Cadence.
"Twilight, what's wrong?" Cadence asked. "Does it have anything to do with Zachary's nightmare that you just mentioned?" Twilight looked down, then looked back up.
"Yes..... And I had to witness it, and what happened next, it was just horrible....." Twilight said, with a solemn look on her face. Cadence gasped.
"That sounds horrible, what happened?" Cadence asked.
"Well...." Twilight's voice trailed off, as she began to explain what had happened.
Zachary and the CMC'S were behind the train station, talking among themselves, about stuff like how life was, or how it was like at school. School. Just that word made Zachary shudder, at the thought of those two bullies that had been bulling him on his first day.
"Hey Zachary....." Applebloom said. "Speaking of school, and since Diamond Tiara can't come anymore, how would you like to come back?" Zachary was thrown off by the question.
"What?" He asked, surprised. "You..... Really would like me to come back to school?"
"Of course we do!" Scootaloo said. "We've missed you since you missed you're first day, and there are no more bully's, so school is perfectly fine." Zachary went into thought about it.
"Well, I guess I would like to go back....." Zachary said, and the CMC'S let out a "Yay!"
"Coming back doesn't seem like it would be bad, when I have friends like you with me." The CMC'S let out an "aww" Before they went into a group hug.
"Thank you, Zachary." Sweetie Belle said. "We would be honored to have you back at school..."
"Yeah, Ah think we can all agree on that." Applebloom said, with a smile. They all broke the group hug bun then there faces were turned into curiosity.
"Hey, what was your nightmare about Zachary? The one Twilight said you had?" Scootaloo asked. Zachary rubbed his arm, not really wanting to talk about it, and they understood the gesture.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, we understand don't worry." Sweetie Belle said, with a smile.
"Oh, well look at this, it's monkey boy again." A third voice said. They all turned around, only to see a very tired, and worn down Diamond Tiara. She glared at Zachary. The anger was clear in her eyes.
"Hey!" Scootaloo said. "You can't be mean to him anymore!" Diamond smirked.
"Really, why not?" Diamond Tiara asked. "Ohhh, wait, let me guess. Is it because the pony that is letting him stay with her is now a princess? Guess what? Twilight does NOT care about you, and she never will!" She then growled more.
"Thanks to you, I have to do work without even getting paid! I also just heard you thinking about going back to school. Well, don't bother, my daddy is going to convince Ms. Cheerilee that you are a horrible monster, and that I did the right thing when I hit Zachary with that rock." She then got up into his face once again.
"If you think any of these ponies truly care about you, then think again." Diamond Tiara said. "Nopony will ever truly love you, you are just a waste of space."
"Oh, well not a single word of that is true at all....." A voice from behind them said. They all turned, only to see a not so happy Twilight, and Cadence.
"P-Princess Twilight and Cadence!" Diamond Tiara said, with a shocked expression. She quickly bowed. "What are you two doing here?" She asked. She knew Twilight was a Princess, due to it making the local newspapers. Twilight walked up to her, with a stern look.
"I thought you would have learned your lesson last time, but.... I guess I was wrong." Twilight said. "I don't know why you feel the need to pick on Zachary, but he never did ANYTHING to you! I also heard the other things you said." She took a breath, before continuing.
"Your father wont be able to get you back into school, no matter how much he bribes, and he will most certainty not convince the ponies that my son is a monster." Twilight said. "Your father might be rich, but he has no power over a princess, let alone four, so if I were you, I would suggest you leave my son alone, or we'll have to get the other princess's involved, got it?" Diamond just nodded, then ran off. Twilight then looked down at Zachary, with a soft smile.
"Zachary the things that Diamond Tiara said aren't true, you know that, right?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, that rotten little filly is just jealous of you." Cadence said.
"We would never ever consider you a waste of space, so don't believe anything that comes out of her mouth." Scootaloo said, and the other CMC'S nodded in agreement. Zachary smiled at all of them.
"Thank you...." Zachary said. They all nodded, as they saw the train for the Crystal Empire pull up to the station.
"Oh, well it looks like my ride is here." Cadence said, as she looked at all of them, with a bit of a sad smile. "I guess I should get going now." Zachary walked up to her, with a smile.
"I'll miss you, Cadence." Zachary said. Cadence smiled down at him, before giving him a small pat on the shoulder.
"I'll miss you too, Zachary." Cadence said. "But don't worry, we'll see each other again soon, I promise." Cadence gave him a warm smile, as she went to board the train, waving to them through the window. They waved back, as the train left the station.
"Well girls, I think me and Zachary are going to go back to the library." Twilight said.
"That's fine." Sweetie Belle said. "We were going to try to get our cutie marks before schools starts tomorrow, hopefully." Twilight gave them both a look of understandment, but sternness.
"Just don't try anything dangerous, alright? I don't want your sisters to worry about you." Twilight said, and they nodded, as they ran off in the other direction. Twilight giggled at them, then looked at Zachary.
"Ready to get going?" Twilight asked, and Zachary nodded. As they began to leave the train station, Zachary remembered what Twilight said to Diamond Tiara. My son... Those words kept on repeating in Zachary's head.
Does Twilight really want me to be her son? Zachary asked himself. I don't know... maybe I should ask her? No, I think I should wait until later.... I guess.... Maybe..... I can start to call her mom.... Zachary sighed, and Twilight looked down at him, with concern in her eyes.
"Are you alright?" Twilight asked. "You look.... Tired. Then again, can't blame you for that." She let out a lighthearted chuckle. Zachary looked up with a small smile.
"It's nothing, I'm fine, don't worry." Zachary said, with an reassuring smile. Twilight gave him an unsure look, before silently sighing.
"If you say so...." Twilight replied, as they were getting close to the library.
The Everfree forest...
John was in a place that he had hoped that he would never be in again, the Everfree forest. The last time he had came to the mysterious place, he saw so many weird things, like wooden wolves, and strange noises and voices. The only reason he was there, is because in the woods that he was in before, was now being searched by ponies, who were looking for the filly, who would never be found, because of John.
"It's all gonna be worth it...." John said, with an evil smile. "They will all suffer..... One by one.... I'll make them all suffer.... I have a plan for tonight.... but I'll need something to get past that purple unicorns magic.
"This world is filled with magic!" John said to himself. "There has to be something that can prevent it.." As he said this, he started to notice a faint light in the distance. The light grew bigger a John began to get more and more closer to it.
"What is that?" John asked, as he finally came across the source. It was a small hut, that housed the light inside, but it was a green light for some odd reason. "Why is it green?" He was now more curious then he was before. "Who would even live in a hut in the middle of THIS kind of forest anyway?'
Suddenly, the front of the hut opened, and John quickly jumped into some nearby bushes. He saw a zebra walk out of the hut, and deed into the Everfree. His stomach growled, indicating that he was hungry.
"When was the last time that I had anything good to eat?" John asked himself. "Probably not since I came to this world, but maybe that zebra has something...." He then got out of his hiding place, and slowly, but carefully walked down to the hut.
He pulled on the door, and realized that the door was unlocked. "Why didn't she lock her door?" John asked. "Probably due to the fact that she lives in the middle of nowhere and thinks that no one is going to rob her house, well lets prove her wrong."
John walked inside the hut and when he did, he was stunned. There were potions, there were weird mask things, and there was a giant pot, with some weird green liquid inside.
"What....? Why does she have this type of stuff?" John asked, pulling out his handgun just for good measures. He made his way around the hut, and into the fridge to raid it.
"Lets see, no, no, aha!" John said, as he pulled out what seemed to be some fresh fruit. There was a bottle behind it. "Huh? What's this?" As he asked this, he pulled out the bottle, and read the label. He grinned happily at what it said.
Anti Magic Potion.
A few hours later.....
Twilight and Zachary were back at the library. They had just sat down on the couch ready to read yet another Daring Do book. They had a pretty good day together, they went out for lunch, they went to the park, and now, after the long day that they endured, they were ready to get themselves lost in the vast world of Daring Do and her adventures.
"Alright Zachary, are you ready to start?" Twilight asked, and Zachary in response to this, nodded his head. She had another plan later that night. It was a party, for Zachary. Her friends were going to come here, Pinkie was going to bring the party supplies, and everypony else was going to help with it.
I hope he likes it.... Twilight thought to herself. The reason they were going to have this party, is for Zachary. Twilight wanted to ask him, if he wanted to be her official adopted son. She smiled at the thought of being called mom again.
"Lets start then, shall we?" Twilight asked.
"Okay...... I hope this one is good too...." Zachary said, with a hopeful smile.
"I'm sure that it will be a very good one." Twilight said, ruffling his hair, as she levitated the book up, and began to read the first chapter. The book was the best one they have read yet, it had adventure, great battle scenes, and everything else you would want in an adventure book. They continued their little reading session, and were getting to the next chapter, when Twilight noticing Zachary looking down at his stomach.
"Hey, are you alright?" Twilight asked. "Are you still hungry?" Zachary shook his head.
"No, just thirsty." Zachary replied. Twilight smiled at him.
"Well, I did get some hot coco, if you want, I can make you some." Twilight suggested. Zachary put on a smile, then he nodded.
"That sounds good." He said, and Twilight smiled.
"Alright, want to stay out here, in case our friends come?" Twilight asked, and Zachary just nodded. She smiled, before walking into the kitchen, and getting the supplies that she needed out. As she began to make the warm beverage, she began to think about the small party that she was planning for Zachary.
What if he doesn't like it? What if he hates me for it? Twilight began to sweet a little, but then she shook her head, to calm herself. No, he could never hate you, you were the one who gave him a home, and he even called you mom.... Even if it was in his sleep. Twilight smiled at the memory.
I also called him my son earlier today, and he didn't really seem to mind..... I just really hope that he likes it..... She smiled once again, as she was almost with the warm drinks she was preparing. Her smile quickly turned panicked, however, once she heard what seemed like glass shattering, and the clear scream of Zachary in the main room, which was quickly muffled.
"Zachary?!" Twilight called out, but the only response she got was silence. "Zachary!" She then ran out of the kitchen, and into the main room. Once she got there, she found that the window was shattered, but there was no Zachary.
"Oh Celestia, what happened? ZACHARY?" She gave out a final call, before she felt something blunt make contact with her head. Her body lost all feeling, as it tumbled to the floor. Her eyes were now shut tight, as she went into a deep sleep. The assailant, was right behind her, gripping Zachary tightly.
"Ha, I told you that I would get you, and now, you get to whiteness the true horror of losing a child." John said, with a smile. "Don't worry, you'll be able to find his body on the outskirts of the forest, and I can't wait to see your reaction." John laughed, while Zachary let a few tears fall from his eyes.
"L....t m.... go...." Zachary said, but his voice was muffled, as he tried to escape from Johns grip .
"Shut up!" John shouted, kneeing his back. He yelped in pain. "Now come on, I want to get this job done, somewhere far from here." John smiled, as he dragged the small child out of the library, his attempts for his struggling, was rewarded with nothing.
"Twi......" A voice said. Twilight could barley hear it, she couldn't see, let alone move her body.
"Twi.....Light......!" The voice was a little more clear now, but still barley.
"Twilight! Wake up!" The voice of Rainbow Dash said. Twilight felt feeling coming back to her, along with the ability to see. She saw her five friends around her, all with looks of concern, even Pinkie, who looked like she was ready for a party.
"What...... Happened?" Twilight asked, slowly getting up, but then winced with pain.
"Easy there, now." Applejack said. "We don't know what happened, but it must have been bad with a bruise like that on your head." She pointed to the side of Twilights head.
"Twilight.... Where exactly is Zachary?" Rarity asked, with concern. Twilight memories cane rushing back to her, as she began to feel sick at the events that happened before she was knocked out.
"Zachary! Oh no, we've got to find him!" She shouted, getting up, being ready to run out the door in a matter of seconds, but was stopped by Applejacks rope.
"Wow there, nelly." Applejack said, trying her best to hold back Twilight. "Tell us what happened." Twilight felt like she was on the verge of tears, as she began to recall what happened back to her friends. They all let out gasps, both of horror, and anger.
"Who..... Who would ever do such a thing?!" Rainbow Dash asked, with anger in her voice.
"Who do you think?" Twilight asked, and that's when they all already knew their culprit. John.
"Why that little....." Rainbow Dash growled. "I'll tear him to shreds once I find him!" She growled again.
"That ruffian shall get what's coming to him!" Rarity said, with a scowl of anger.
"Well, that rotten varmint is going ta get a good beating....." Applejack said.
"I'll shoot the meanie pants to the moon if I have too!" Pinkie shouted, pulling out her party canon.
"Normally, I'm nice..... But I will not share my kindness with John...." Fluttershy said. Twilight raised her head, with a new found determination.
"If he thinks he'll get away with this, then he is greatly mistaken...." Twilight said. "If he lays a single hoof on Zachary, then I will send him to Tartarus myself." She then turned back to her friends.
"Rainbow, I need you to fly to Canterlot, and get the two Princess's." Rainbow nodded, as she flew out of the library, knocking all the books off their shelves, but Twilight didn't care this time, all she cared about at that moment was finding Zachary.
"The rest of you, please come with me." Twilight said. They all nodded in agreement, as they ran out, to look for Zachary.
"Alright, you little waste of air, it's time." John said, with evil intent in his voice. He threw Zachary to the ground, violently. The watch then began to glow again with a red light.
No...... Stop What You Are Doing.... The watch pleaded, but it's attempts on convincing John were hopeless. He pointed the gun at Zachary, and cocked it.
"Say goodnight...." John said.
"STOP!" The voice of Twilight shouted, as her and the mane six ran up to John, but as soon as they got too close, he grabbed Zachary, and pointed the gun to his head.
"Stop right where you are." John said. "Unless you want his brains all over the floor, you'll stay back."
"John, don't do this!" Twilight said.
"Why not?!" John replied. "It's all his fault. It's his fault that she died!" Twilight recoiled, and so did her friends. She then tried to use her magic on him, but it failed.
"What? Why can't I use my magic on you?!" Twilight asked, with shock clear in her voice. John giggled.
"Anti Magic potion, or something." He said. Twilight gasped, but she realized she had to save Zachary.
"Look, I know why your doing it, it's because of Angela, isn't it?" Twilight asked, and John's mouth turned agape.
"How..... Did you know about that?" John asked.
"Melissa, now please, this isn't what she would have wanted. She wouldn't want to see her dad turned into some monster, due to his lust for revenge." Twilight said. They all nodded in agreement. John, slowly lowered the gun, and released Zachary.
"Zachary...." Twilight said. They began to walk closer to each other, when a sudden BANG ranged out. Zachary stopped, along with Twilight. They all gasped. He turned pale, as he felt something trickle out of his stomach. He looked down, and saw the bullet hole that he had in his body. He then became to walk towards them again, then he fell to his knees, before his entire body fell to the ground.
"Zachary?! ZACHARY!!!" Twilight cried, as she ran up to him. She put her hoof on his body, shaking him.
"Mommy....." Was all that came out, before he went silent.
"NO, THIS CANT BE HAPPENING! ZACHARY, NO PLEASE NO!" Twilight cried, with tears falling from her eyes
"ZACHARY!!!!!!!!!!!"