//------------------------------// // Arc XXX Episode I: Discussing Infiltration // Story: Family Begins With You // by Jmaster49 //------------------------------// “Yeah, he was pretty strange,” Adagio continued, “He muttered something about planning on becoming the main sheriff of this city. Outside of the humans’ cowboy movies, I honestly have no clue what that means.” “Must be looking to assert himself as someone noteworthy,” Aidon replied, then thought back to the woman that approached him not too long ago. “Hm…” Adagio noticed his thoughtful expression and decided to ask, “Hm? What’s up, professor?” “I’m just thinking,” he replied as he looked up at her, then out the window, “I remember speaking with this woman who seemed rather adamant about her son becoming a well-known, remarkable sheriff that everyone would have to respect one day.” “Yeesh…” the siren shuddered as she sipped from her cup. “I can’t imagine being smothered to such a degree. From the way he was talking to us, it sounded like he wasn’t even able to think for himself, let alone make tough decisions.” “That may just be our ticket inside,” Aidon replied with a surefire grin, “If you can somehow speak to him again, and possibly get a tour…” “Then we could possibly find out what’s going on inside,” Adagio agreed, “Sounds like a plan. After seeing what happened to Micro Chips and Wallflower, I really don’t want to see anymore of my human classmates suffer.at the hands of the corrupt ones. Gangsters, murderers, drug dealers…” she counted out each one on her fingers, “In spite of magic being far less common here, it seems that the population is still quite dangerous.” Aidon sighed and shook his head. “Even then…magic has become increasingly more common as of late. I sense it might be due to the state of equilibrium in Equestria that’s causing more instability here. At some point, I fear something terrible might occur.” “...You’d be surprised,” Adagio muttered, “This world has collapsed and nearly imploded numerous times. Surprisingly, not because of me and my sisters.” She gave a sarcastic chuckle, “We didn’t even get to that stage before Shimmer de-powered us.” “Still bitter about that?” Aidon asked, looking to pick her head for a bit. “Nah,” she rolled her eyes, “At most, I see her as a rival--a friendly one! Though I'm honestly impressed by her. She’s been through a lot and still continues in spite of everything. In fact, you’ll never believe what she told me.” Aidon raised an eyebrow, concerned over whether it was something that was meant for his ears or not. “Erm…are you certain that it’s okay to divulge such information?” “It’s fine,” Adagio said with a giggle. “It’s in reference as to why she went down this path in the first place. It has to do with Princess Celestia. To make a long story short…she somewhat resents the fact that she never bothered to teach her about dark magic. Good thing you didn’t turn out to be evil, huh? No way we’d be able to take you on…” Aidon wanted to chuckle at such a statement, but took some time to think. While dark magic was rather risky to use, he couldn’t help but wonder why Celestia wouldn’t at least take her time to teach Sunset the basics regarding it. That way, should she ever come across a villain that made use of dark magic, she could find out ways to counter it. As a result, Adagio’s words shook Aidon to his core. What if he had been as deranged and uncontrollable as King Sombra or the Pony of Shadows? Would anyone be able to stop him from razing this world to the ground? To add to that, what if someone else with equivalent dark powers decided to try and claim this world for themselves? “Huh…that…paints quite a bit of perspective on certain things,” he replied. Adagio took another sip, and put a sly smile on her face. “Hm…you know what, professor? I think I’m more than willing to help you--for a price.” “...where did that come from--” “Take some time to help Sunset learn dark magic, please?” she asked with a slightly manipulative grin. “Honestly? I was considering it for a while now,” he replied, “Surprised he hasn’t approached me about it by now.” “Seriously? Shimmer isn’t exactly the type to seek those sorts of things out--at least according to what she told me,” Adagio explained with a more regrettable frown on her face. “After what she did in the past, she simply tries to take a more passive approach towards these types of things. But I think you could be a positive influence on her, sir.” Aidon shut his eyes and thought about how much he had impacted their lives thus far. “You really think so, hm? I think I might have to follow through on that and see what I can teach her. If she’s the designated protector of this realm, then she needs to know as much as possible for the sake of keeping everyone safe. If I can help, then I can’t stand idle on such an issue.” “Well that’s good,” Adagio said with a smile, “I was worried I’d have to spend extra time trying to convince you. Now…where’s this robotics facility located?” “Ah…” Aidon took out his cellphone and started tapping upon it to access the GPS and map. “Let me…hm. Hang on, I haven’t used this in a while.”