//------------------------------// // Revelations // Story: Blackest Knight // by D34dly F1ng3r //------------------------------// Blackest Knight Chapter 13 John exited the bathroom and stretched. His back cracked with a sound like thunder under his shirt. He would have to ask Twilight where, or how, he could get new clothes as well later. Right now though, he felt clean for the first time in months. He decided to find the unicorn and maybe meet the little dragon she had neglected to tell him was a housemate. “He is a human, from another planet Spike,” Twilight’s voice seemed to come from the main hall. John made his way there. A young male voice spoke, “Like the metal monster from the wedding?” John flinched before entering the room the voiced were coming from. “He is the ‘metal monster’ from the wedding.” Twilight blushed as she saw John had entered the room right as she said that. The little dragon yelped and hid behind Twilight’s legs. John chuckled as he strode up next to Twilight. He bent down and sat on his heels to make himself less imposing as he addressed the small dragon. “Hello, my name is John. Can I ask for yours?” The little dragon seemed to calm a little as he realized that John had no ill intent. “S-S-Spi-Spike.” John chuckled, “It is good to meet you Spike, but I think you should come out. I think Twilight is getting annoyed that we are talking through her legs.” The lavender unicorn was indeed annoyed, but said nothing as Spike retreated from her legs. “Well I think it’s nearly time for bed for you Spike.” “But …” “No, you are a baby dragon after all.” “Yes,” John interjected, “and baby dragons need their sleep so they can grow up big and strong,” John flexed his muscles in a dramatic pose. “You want to impress the ladies, don’t you?” Spike’s eyes began to shine. “Like Rarity?” John chuckled, surprised at his answer. “Yes, especially Rarity!” Spike scampered up the stair to the bedroom he shared with Twilight. The lavender unicorn looked at the human in disbelief, “Usually I have to drag him to bed when he wants to stay up.” “I guess I just have a way with words.” They laughed before John asked, “So is it our bedtime as well? Or were you wanting to talk?” “We can stay up for a bit.” Twilight led him to a sitting room and immediately began with the questions. “So what is your world like?” “It is a dark world,” John answered, the humor left his voice slightly. “Even though the changelings invaded, I can tell that your world is usually peaceful, am I correct?” “Yes.” “Well Earth is a lot different. Plague and famine can sweep through entire countries in an instant. War is almost a constant ordeal. When two countries stop fighting, two others start. Many countries can enter the wars, and twice in our history has the entire world been at war with itself. Death is a constant reality.” John paused, and he could see that Twilight was shaken by his description. “That’s horrible!” “Yes.” The pair stayed silent for a few minutes as John’s description of Earth sunk into Twilight. After a long hesitation, she asked quietly, “Do you want to return there?” “I …” John hesitated. He had lived in this world for so long. He had changed in many ways through the trials he was put through. He had spilt blood here, innocent blood. Could he go back to that world? He stayed silent as he thought. He glanced down at his arm again, quickly hiding the scar. Twilight noticed this action. John’s mind wandered to his girlfriend. He had bought a ring for her before he was taken. He was going to ask her to marry him, but seeing the way Cadance and Shining Armor acted around one another, he realized that he had never shared such intimate moments with her. The realization hit him in the stomach. “No.” Twilight tore her gaze from his arm, shocked at his answer. “Why would you not?” John looked away from her. “I do not belong in that world anymore. I don’t think I ever did.” Silence fell upon the two before Twilight asked, “Does it have something to do with your left arm?” John looked at her, “ … Yes.” She was about to ask but he cut her off. “No, I will not tell you what. There are some stories about me that you don’t want to hear.” The two sat in silence again. Twilight’s curiosity was killing her. She quickly drummed up a scanning spell that he could not feel. Not even advanced unicorns would be able to know that the scanning had been cast, even while knowing what to look for. She slowly began the scanning at his fingertips. She felt resistance blocking her spell and John’s head snapped toward her. His grey eyes bored into hers and she gasped, withdrawing the spell. John growled at her, “I told you not to scan me.” She hesitated, scared at his sudden change in tone and surprised that he felt her spell. She had cast this spell on Celestia before as a test and the alicorn had never felt it. “I … I … You … You shouldn’t have even been able to feel that spell.” Twilight realized too late that that was the wrong thing to say. John’s eyes burned with anger. “Why are you trying to deceive me?” “I’m not,” Twilight felt like crying, “I just wanted to make sure you weren’t hiding something dangerous.” The fire in John’s eyes began to cool as he realized he was scaring the unicorn. He sighed, “I’m sorry for snapping at you like that.” He looked away. Silence hung over the two. Twilight was about to excuse herself, but John stopped her before she could open her mouth. “What I am about to tell you does not leave this room, okay?” Twilight hesitated. The weight in his voice gave her the impression that she would not like what he was going to say. She briefly considered rejecting the offer, but she knew he was offering a chance to trust him. She nodded. He cast a muffle spell around them. He sighed again before beginning. “You told me that you could feel magical energy coming from my body, is that still correct?” “Magical energies, as in multiple.” She replied. “Before I tell you what I am going to tell you, I want you to scan my body and tell me what they are. But you have to promise not to scan from my left elbow down. Okay?” “I promise,” She began another scanning spell, this one was designed to be felt. Her brow furrowed as she completed the scan, except for his left elbow down. “That is strange.” “What is?” Twilight looked at him. “Many different magical energies reside within your body, more than should be able to live inside one being. But they all work together. They all complete a separate task without getting in the way of others. They seem to be enhancing your strength, stamina, speed, all your physical attributes. Then there are passive ones that seem to have strong effects. One, centered around your digestive tract, seems to be providing your body with energy, it seems to be sucking in the air you breathe and converting it into the most efficient energy I have ever seen.” “Yes, I learned that the hard way when I was suddenly unable to eat.” “You can’t eat?” John shook his head at Twilight’s question. “That makes sense, your body is producing its own energy at an extreme rate. Any extra energy would just be wasted.” “What are some of the other passive energies?” “Well there is one that seems to be regulating your entire body, it seems to destroy anything that could cause you to become sick. It’s like a defense system.” Twilight rescanned his body. “There is one that permeates your entire body as well, but I can’t tell what it does. It just seems to be sitting there.” “Any other energies?” “Yes, one more.” Twilight scanned the last energy again before continuing, “This one seems to be centered around your left shoulder down your arm. It becomes more powerful as it travels down to your elbow. I think it would be more powerful around your forearm. It also seems to be like the magical energy that unicorns channel through their horns.” John flinched at that word. “I told you about the enhancements, right?” “Yes, the ones that the changelings did to you.” “Well I think that those enhancements are what created all these magical energies. The last energy is why I can cast magic.” Twilight looked at him. “You said your world does not have magic, how come you took so well to these magical implants?” “I don’t know. But I was not the first to receive the enhancements, I was only the first to survive.” Twilight gasped, John continued, “I was told she tried them on several changelings, and even a few ponies, before switching to humans. I was not even the first human.” “Ponies?” Twilight was disgusted. “Yes, that is why you must not tell anyone about the procedures.” “I won’t, that’s horrible.” John grimaced, “It will be like describing paradise compared to what I am about to tell you.” Twilight’s stomach sunk. She didn’t think she could hear anything worse than what he had already told her. She was so wrong. “I want you to scan from my elbow down.” John looked at the scar that stretched from his wrist to just below his elbow. Twilight hesitated before scanning. Her eyes grew twice their size as she realized that his bone was a lot different from the bone in his right arm. Melded to the natural bone of his arm wan a unicorn’s horn. The horn of a filly. “Did you hear about a filly that went missing from a resort town near the changeling hive?” Twilight nearly lost her dinner as she realized where this conversation has heading. She nodded. John looked down. Sadly he said, “Her name was Morning Dew.”