//------------------------------// // 8 - Selama // Story: Children of the Sunwell // by Dizastrous //------------------------------// Chapter 8 Helix deposited the amulet onto the table as he ran a hand through his hair. The lack of feeding on mana was beginning to wear on him. Helix usually prided himself on not needing to feed as often as his friends, but he was beginning to hit his limit. "Are you okay Helix?" The concerned voice of Twilight Sparkle asked, startling the warlock. "No, no I am not..." Helix sighed as he slumped on the sofa he sat on. "What's wrong? You look a little pale, are you sick?" Twilight asked. "You could say that, but there is something more important than my health this is going to happen. Dizastrous is coming to Ponyville as we speak." Helix explained. "Oh, well, that might bring a little bit of a scare to the other ponies..." Twilight said in thought remembering the reaction that Zecora brought to Ponyville. "We may need to introduce me to the town today, better they meet me first than they meet him." Helix said, eyeing the magical aura Twilight's horn was giving off as she grabbed a book from a shelf. Twilight considered this for a moment while she sat the book in front of her, "I guess that might be okay, but why is it so important that they meet you first? Helix gave a wry grin as he began to explain, "Dizastrous is not his real name, just like Helix is not mine. They are nick names, and Diz earned his. I don't think you want to hear the entire story, so I won't bother telling you, but shall we leave it at there were no survivors?" Twilight's eyes widened and she gasped at this news, "No survivors? What kind of a person is he?!" "I may have made that sound a little harsh... He is a devout knight in the service of our people, and he was protecting women and children. Our people had a falling out with old allies, and we were all being imprisoned. He fended off a detachment of soldiers to allow others to escape. When we found him he was drenched in the soldier's blood, on the brink of death himself." Helix explained. Twilight was baffled by this, her face showed that she was fighting with what to think of Helix's friend. Helix in the meantime was keeping a wary eye on her, fending off the pain of the craving. Helix could at least see a silver lining to Dizastrous coming to Ponyville soon, he would bring the trapped elementals for Helix to sate his thirst on. "He is a good man though, just make sure he is not threatened or he will fight back." Helix sighed. The two sat in silence for a short amount of time after that. The silence left Helix with time to think over how he should go about finally revealing his presence to the town. The ponies seemed skittish at best to newcomers, if the walleyed pegasus he met when he investigated presence of The Doctor. "Should we start with your friends, and have them spread the word after meeting me, or should I just start walking around town?" Helix asked with a thoughtful look adorning his face. Twilight gave him a strange look when he mentioned the latter idea, eliciting a grin from the warlock. Helix laughed at the face the purple mare was giving him. "You are right, that would not end well would it? So, who do you think will take the news of me the easiest? Wouldn't want to scare one of your friends to death, that would be counter productive in the long run if someone runs off screaming through the town." Helix offered. As if tempted by fate Fluttershy trotted inside of the library with a wide smile on her face. "Twilight, Discord finally got his luggage packed and has left to go back to Canterlot and finally help ponies with his magic!" The yellow mare said excitedly in her soft voice, "I knew he had a good heart, even if he is too proud to show it at times." Twilight was frozen in a state of panic as she stared at her timid friend who seemed to have been oblivious to the large bipedal she was standing in front of. The purple mare's eyes darted between Fluttershy's and Helix's. "Oh, I'm sorry... Did I come at a bad time?" Fluttershy asked, covering half of her face in her mane as she thought she had offended Twilight. The whole ordeal seamed odd to Helix. The warlock was unsure if the mare was blind or daft, but she still had not noticed his presence despite the fact that Twilight was blatantly looking between him and the newcomer. "Excuse me miss, I do not believe we have met. You may call me Helix, and I am a new friend of Twilight's" Helix said in a kind voice as he put on a smile to leave the best first impression he possibly could. "Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't see you there! How rude of me!" Fluttershy said as she slowly turned around and met Helix's eyes. Large blue eyes met with glowing green eyes, and the room was dead silent. Helix kept his charming smile on his face, but he was frozen by what he saw in the mare, primal fear. Fluttershy was not used to coming out of her shell, but was willing to try when she heard the kind voice behind her say it was Twilight's friend. But when she saw the glowing eyes, and the strange nature of the speaker she froze. Being an expert on animals she also locked onto the exposed teeth of the warlock, sharp and meant for tearing meat. Fluttershy slowly curled into a defensive ball, covering her face with her feathers as she began to go into a state of shock. Twilight's eyes doubled in size as she realized her friend had nearly been scared to death. "Nether blast it, this does not look good for me..." Helix mumbled as his face fell at the sight of the shivering mare. The two trudged on out of the swamp, Chrysalis eyeing Dizastrous warily. Dizastrous took no notice of this however, as he was too busy brooding over the horrid state of his appearance. He hated being drenched in gore, it always left a bad taste in his mouth when he was made to remember killing the soldiers who had once been his friends, but had turned on him and his people. He also prided himself on his pristine appearance, something that was not apparent with his hair matted down with blood. "Remind me again why we went through that bog, instead of taking another route?" Dizastrous mumbled angrily. "Because, the only other way to get to Ponyville would be around the bog, and that would have taken several days to skirt around the dangerous parts. It was you who did not want to waste time after all. It is not my fault you cannot fly." Chrysalis said in a defensive tone. This only elicited more grumbling from the Blood Knight. Had he known he was going to have to travel on his own like this he would have demanded Helix brought his Frostbrood through the gateway. But instead he was stuck in this world without a mount, the only one he could rely on was his holy steed, but after learning that the residence of this world were equine in nature, he thought it in his best interest to not be seen riding a horse. Dizastrous cast his eyes to the side and watched Chrysalis in silence for a short while as they walked together through the bog. He had to admit he was surprised, the queen of the changelings had kept her promise to help him after all. "You surprise me you know..." Dizastrous said as he chuckled to himself. "Hmm?" Chrysalis gave Dizastrous a questioning glance. "Where I am from, you cannot trust what a monarch promises. Though they may say one thing if it promises to help their people, when it comes time to follow through with what they promised, there is always a reason that they can no longer honor their end of the bargain." The Blood Knight explained. "Well then, don't judge me based on them then. If I swear to do something, I will do my best to follow through. Even if it puts my own life at risk." Chrysalis said with a resolute tone. "Such as feeding your changelings?" Dizastrous said, casting an inquisitive glance. "Exactly." Chrysalis said the word with pride. Dizastrous smiled at the response, "You are right, I shouldn't judge you based on the monarchs from my world. You deserve more respect than they do." Chrysalis was taken aback by this, no one other than her changelings had treated her with anything aside from disgust. And here this elf was treating her with respect? "We should be getting close now right?" Dizastrous asked, breaking Chrysalis's train of thought. "Yes, we should get there by sunrise unless we want to set up camp somewhere." Chrysalis returned. The Blood Knight thought over this for a moment before shaking his head and sighing, "No, I need to get something to Helix. Weaver is not afraid to blackmail someone into giving her mana, Helix is too soft though. He needs to get some of the mana I have in my pack or he is going to lose it." "This Helix you speak of, he sounds like he does not fit in with your small war band..." Chrysalis commented. "Oh, I would not say that. He has a kind heart, but he is not afraid to get his hands dirty if the need arises. I have seen that man slaughter countless foes that got in his way. While he likes to avoid conflict most of the time, if you set him off be prepared to meet his wrath..." Dizastrous said darkly. Chrysalis hummed in thought over this as they walked. Dizastrous began to notice that off in the distance there was a dirt path. His eyes widened at the prospect that they would soon be at the town. He thought over how he planned to get back at Helix, the poor bastard was probably scurrying to get the townsfolk to learn of his presence before sunrise. It would be difficult at this time of night however, ponies should be getting to bed soon. If strutting into town in broad daylight did not cause a stir, he would have to come up with something new. As the pair walked down the dirt path, time seemed to pass by quickly. Neither spoke as both were deep in thought of what was to come. Off in the distance, lights from the town could be seen as the sun began to peek over the horizon, making part of the sky orange as the land was still dark. "How do you plan on hiding yourself?" Dizastrous asked. "To be honest, taking any form would be suitable with you around. They will be more suspicious of you than a stranger who trots in with you. If anything they might try rescuing me from you at first sight..." Chrysalis said with a chuckle as she turned herself into a charcoal black unicorn mare with a long and straight turquoise mane and tail. "Huh, handy skill isn't that?" Dizastrous commented as they continued to walk. As they drew nearer they came across a bridge which a stream ran under. The Blood Knight's eyes lit up to this an he immediately ran into the water and began rinsing the dried gore off of himself. Chrysalis smiled an shook her head at the display of the Blood Knight's urge to be clean. "What? I want to give them a scare, not make them think I am some kind of murderous beast." Dizastrous said as he caught the look Chrysalis was giving him. "I didn't say anything at all." Chrysalis said with a smile. Dizastrous climbed out of the stream, water pouring from his armor and soaking the ground he walked upon. Chrysalis clicked her tongue at this and her horn lit up, evaporating the water, and drying the Blood Knight. "huh, not bad..." Dizastrous commented as he observed his dry state, and ran an armored hand through his silver hair, making sure it was in order. Chrysalis nodded approvingly at his appearance and the two continued on their trek towards the town. As they drew nearer they noticed something was strange. From a distance it looked like the town was strangely well lit, but up close it was apparent why. A mob had formed outside of a large tree. "What in the name of the light are they doing?" Dizastrous mumbled. "Looks like they are surrounding the library for some reason. Perhaps Sparkle got herself into trouble." Chrysalis said in a wishful tone. "More likely Helix fucked something up... Looks like I messed with him by just saying I was going to." The Blood Knight said with a grin. The pair walked into the town, the streets deserted as the majority of the populace stood outside the library with torches and assorted makeshift weapons. Shouts could be heard now, and as they drew closer the words could be made out. "You let her go monster! She has done nothing to you!" "Let Twilight free of your mind spells!" "Begone monster!" Dizastrous saw that the large tree was indeed hollowed out, and a balcony had even been build near the top. On the balcony Helix stood with a purple mare. It was apparent that they both were trying desperately to calm the mob, but their voices were drowned out by the cacophony of screams and shouts. Chrysalis and Dizastrous exchanged glances. "Wait here..." Dizastrous said as he strode nearer to the mob of ponies. As he marched towards the library he began casting blessings and protective spells on himself. The sustainable bubble of light that was a lesser form of his divine shield sprang to life. The sacred shield cast a glow on the ground around him, making him shine like a beacon in the darkness. Helix and Twilight immediately saw him, but the crowd had eyes only for Helix. Dizastrous walked up to the back of the mob and nudged a pony that was in his way with his knee. "Hey watch it!" The stallion exclaimed as it spun to see who had nudged him. As the pony looked up at the form of the dazzling Blood Knight, it lost its ability to stand. The ponies around it noticed the noise of the whimpering the stallion was making and they as well turned to see what was the matter. They too fell into a shocked state of whimpering as they saw the glowing form of Dizastrous. Dizastrous allowed more magic to flow through him, and his eyes changed from their natural green glow, to a bright golden one. The ponies near him backed away, causing more of the crowd to turn around and notice the tall glowing figure. "By Celestia... He shines like the sun..." A pony mumbled from within the near silent mob. . "He looks just like the demon that has its spell over Twilight and her friends..." Another pony said in the mob. Tension built as the mob stared at the tall brilliant figure before them. The sound of a pin dropping could have been heard as the sun began to rise higher and higher over the horizon, casting the beginnings of its light over the ponies. The light however, did not make the glow of the Blood Knight any less daunting. The light of the sun only caused the ponies to realize that the bubble of glowing light around Dizastrous was in fact, solidified light, the shell around him never once looking any dimmer compared to the sun's rays. "Boo." Dizastrous said suddenly shattering the silence. Ponies shrieked and screamed as they abandoned their torches and weapons and bolted for the safety of their homes. The area around the large tree was now empty aside from the Blood Knight, and the disguised Chrysalis who now approached the front door to the library. Dizastrous pushed the door open, the sound of something heavy being pushed from behind the door. As he entered, he noticed that a large stack of furniture had been set up against the door. Inside, five sets of eyes locked onto him, ignoring the mare that followed him inside. The sound of boots and hooves hitting stairs brought his attention to his friend and the purple mare descending the stairway from the top floor. "Helix, what the fuck did you do wrong? You practically got all the fun out of this!" Dizastrous growled as he strode over to his friend. "Long story..." The warlock sighed wearily. "I have time, regale me with your tale." Dizastrous said smugly. The two Blood elves stared at each other in silence for a short moment. None of the ponies made a sound as all eyes were locked on the two friends. "Give me some mana before I kill somebody..." Helix said with a pleading tone. Dizastrous laughed as he reached into his pack and procured a smoky glass flask. Helix snatched the flask from the Blood Knight's hands and popped the top off. Helix did not go for the sport of besting the elemental trapped first, instead putting the flask to his lips and instantly devouring the mana trapped inside. "Well?" Dizastrous asked expectantly. "Fine, so after we finished our conversation..." Helix began his tale.