//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - Saviour in an Elderly Form // Story: Pack's Loyalty (V2) // by FoundFamily //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Saviour in an Elderly Form “Sunset again. As you can expect, I never thought I would have ran into someone during my time in the cold. Never knew that a chance meeting would pave me a new way in my life. Guess third chances do exist after all” “Why are you out here in the cold, young one?” Sunset looked up, with tears frozen down her cheeks and saw the sight of the person who asked her. He was clearly an elderly male, who was in his 50’s or 60’s with tan orange skin, grey eyes that sparked of youth despite his age and had ebony white hair and an ebony white beard. He was standing upright with a lean build. He wore a bright red gi with black sleeves and buttons and on the left top of the torso area was an insignia of a yin-yang symbol in a dragon’s jaw with the tail spiralling around and on his face seemed to be a look of concern and worry. “Just leave me alone” Sunset choked and she buried her her face into her knees and once again began to sob softly. The old man, rather than leave, simply just said: “Why don’t you come with me to my house, unless you want to die from frostbite.” Sunset simply turned her head: a sign that she was refusing his help. The old man just sighed: this girl was difficult. He then whispered something and Sunset realised that her feet weren’t touching the ground. She looked up and to her shock… The old man had sprouted Dragon-shaped wings and was flying in a direction to the north! Either Sunset was suffering from hallucinations from haven’t eaten a snack in a few hours or she must have been dreaming or something. A quick pinch on her cheek and the sudden recoil quickly told her that this was real. So she decided on the most appropriate response. "WHAT THE HHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL?! "Hey, what would your reaction be to be carried by a guy that can turn part dragon?!" Sunset said with a scowl at the chuckling teens. "We're not judging.' Falco said hands raised. Then he snickered 'Though that was a scream for you!" Sunset just smacked him “What? Never been flying before?” he asked with a cheeky grin. When he looked up, Sunset saw his face was more reptilian with scales and his eyes shifted to slits. Sunset processed her thoughts: This man. Summoned dragon wings. Like a Pony-up. But he did it on his own free will. Her train of thought was broken when the old man landed in front of a house located near a forest. “I assume that you have a question?” “Oh, just a couple.” Droned Sunset, still recovering from the surprise flight. “For example…. HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO...THAT?!!” she exclaimed. She was certain that there was no Equestrian magic in this world. And here this guy was sprouting Dragon wings. He simply gave an amused chuckle. “I believe introductions are in order, before I explain my little trick, or did you not get taught that in your youth??” the man questioned. Sunset immediately blushed in embarrassment due to her forgetfulness. “Oh right. Sorry. Anyways, I’m Sunset Shimmer. Nice to meet you” she replied with a hand outstretched. The old man took her hand and shook it. “Lumen Draco” he answered. “So anyways, care to explain why you are not in your home and in this weather no doubt?” She told him everything...except the Equestria parts. He may be able to grow dragon wings but in all honesty, he wouldn’t believe her being a pony from another dimension. As she was spilling her guts out, the expression on Lumen’s face was of silent fury. “A few secrets told and they leave her out to rot?! Also, what is wrong with that school of hers? Attacking an innocent girl out of ‘revenge’?” He thought “...And you know what’s worse?!’, She yelled in anguish. ‘...I proved to them all I changed! And after the showcase I thought they accepted it! They were my first family, and they do this to me?! I wonder if I was their friend at all!” She broke down even further, tears flowing like a raging river in Canada. She would’ve broke down even more, if Lumen hadn’t hugged her, rubbing her back and soothing her emotions. After a while, she calmed down, but her eyes were still puffy from the crying. “Come with me. You need to warm up and get some food.” And with that, the two made their way to his home. “That was when we first met.” Sunset said. “YEp. To be honest, none of us expected a rando bambina to be rollin’ up to our home.” Squalo said with a smirk. Sunset and Lumen made to the house. It was styled like a cross between a Japanese Dojo and a normal two-story house with Grey granite walls and a brown roof. The wood was a dark brown mahogany. When they entered, the layout was fairly simple, with all the necessary rooms of a normal house, with the living room having a fireplace and television, as well as a...ya, know what, basically the house had all the necessary rooms alright? Anyways, Sunset made her way to the floor cushions and parked her rear on one of them in front of the fire. Sticking her hands out to warm her fingers. Soon Lumen came in with a cup of hot cocoa that Sunset eagerly accepted because the weather outside was kind of like the Arctic “You know, Sunset. You aren’t the only person I ran into that had suffered from a case of betrayal” He said to which Sunset looked on in confusion. Before she could ask a voice rang out. “YO, OLD MAN! WE’RE BACK AND WE HAVE DEM MARSHMALLOWS YA WANTED!” "One way to make an entrance." Shade said with a smirk to Squalo, who shrugged. Sunset turned around and noticed five other teens coming in. The first one was Squalo, wearing a snow jacket over a Navy-blue t-shirt with a picture of a twisting shark in the middle, dark blue jeans and blue trainers. Next to come in was a Falco. He had on a black beanie and a snow jacket over a White tank-top, grey sleeveless vest, white trousers with a picture of a tornado with a pair of falcon wings sprouting from the tornado and white trainers. The third was Sandy, who was currently shaking at the knees from the cold and Sunset couldn't blame her. Currently, she had on a puffy jacket over a white tank-top, blue short-shorts and brown boots. The shorts have an insignia with an obelisk being wrapped by a snake. On her head was a Stetson hat. She could be like Applejack, but she had an aura of subdued irritation now. Next was Shade. He looked like a biker from the '60s and the attire reflected it with a Black t-shirt under a black leather biker jacket with an insignia of a white crescent moon and a wolf’s eye in black with three scratches over it in the under the moon located on the back of the jacket along with black jeans, black fingerless gloves and black and white biker boots. Finally, there was Flora. She was wearing a green t-shirt with a paw print in a wooden tree trunk in the middle under a White hoodie, a green skirt and light green sandals. How she was not cold was a mystery to her. Suddenly the tallest male spoke in a deep voice. "Hey, who's she?" he said pointing at Sunset in confusion. Lumen only said this: “You’re new housemate.” "Naturally we were all curious." Flora said. "I also remember Squalo getting hostile" Sunset added with a look to the pompadour teen. "'Ey yo! What youse expect?! Some stranger comes here and is suddenly our new roommate?! 'Course I would be suspicious!"