12,31,1223, N.H.E.
2:00 P.M.
A young colt skulked from ruble pile to ruble pile trying his hardest to not be seen by the overlord's goon's. He peeked out from the top of a pile and looked around. Not a soul in sight. HA! I guess i gave them the slip! He carefully got to his hooves and tiptoed out into the open. He got only a few feet before a spot light shined on to him. Oh CRAP! Then an electronic voice rang out.
"You there slave. Stop right now or be annihilated." The colt looked past the spot light and saw a the robot carrying it. Oh Pony feather's! Gotta hide! Gotta Hide! GOTTA HIDE!!! He frantically searched all over for a place to hide but he noticed more robot's closing in. Then he heard a laugh ring out. Oh no... What now?
"Well well what do we have here?" The voice came from above. The colt looked up to see a strange creature floating there. It was not a normal pony. That was for sure.
"Who are you?" The colt asked. The creature laughed again.
"Well Hot Shot it looks like today is your lucky day." Discord scooped up the small colt and in a flash the two disappeared.
7, 4, 1000, C.E.
12:00 P.M.
Canterlot Royal Hospital.
Gadget just sat there as he was poked and prodded with every device the doctor's could whip out. Finally he was given a clean bill of health. The Princess's had to go to the front desk and make up a story about how Calculus had tripped going up the stair's. Meanwhile in the doctor's office everypony was bombarding Gadget with question's. One of them kept on being asked so he decided to answer that one first.
"Are you ok?" They all asked. Gadget thought about it.
"I--I think so." He answered looking unsure as he rubbed his head. His parent's went and hugged him.
"Is there something wrong son?" Ruby asked clinging to her son like a life raft. Gadget thought about it. He gritted his teeth trying to recall his coma. An image of green eye's surrounded in flame's shot through his mind. He stiffened as he recalled his old nightmare's.
"Oh no." He said shaking his head.
"What's wrong dear?"
"There back." He said a forlorn expression gripping his face. His parents looked at one another.
"The nightmare's?" His father asked wrapping a hoof around his son. Gadget hugged his father as he nodded. Midnight shook her head.
"I thought we had banished those?" She said concerned now. Gadget looked up.
"We did. But these one's are different." He said. He thought about them.
"Now there are voice's. I can't tell from were but they seem to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time." He shook his head clearing away the last of the foggy mess that was his dream world. At that time The Princess's had returned.
"Well my little pony's shall we head back to the castle?" Celestia asked, a smirk on her face. They all looked at her with suspicion. Gadget was the first to speech.
"So what do you have planned?" He said smiling. The girls all looked between the two.
"Well look who's feeling better?" Pinky said as she skipped around the room.
"Well with all of this good cheer in the room it can get a little contagious." Both Luna and Midnight looked puzzled.
"What you mean this place isn't sterilized all the way?" Midnight asked.
"Doth thow mean that thee have been sick this whole time?" Luna asked. All of the pony's present just looked at the two princess's of the night. Then one by one they all began to laugh. They were soon joined by a third party. When they all realized there was somepony there not present before they all stopped and listened. Then Gadget's ear's perked up.
"Discord!" He shouted in joy. As if summoning the very being himself, discord materialized out of thin air. He was not alone however. A small colt was wrapped around his face clinging on for dear life. Princess Celestia and Luna were in shock. "What is He doing here?" Luna asked her sister. "I do not know sister." she replied.
"Put me down now!" He screamed at the top of his lung's. Discord used his magic to gently put the colt down on the ground.
"Who is this?" Gadget asked as he got down to the colt's eye level. They both starred at one another. Then faster than Hot Shot could react Gadget brought a hoof forward and booped him on the nose. Hot Shot looked at him then touched his nose. He then got into a pouncing crouch and leapt into the air. His wing's sprung out and just as Gadget sprung back Hot Shot tackled Gadget to the ground. The two fell to the ground in a heap. Gadget was playing but Hot Shot was not in the mood. His harsh life on the street's left him with more than a chip on his shoulder. He was using his full force when he hit Gadget. But Gadget didn't seem to notice. He shrugged his hit's off like they were nothing and Kept on playing.
As they wrestled there the whole group just snickered at there antic's. Discord looked both happy and a little concerned.
"Well...that is?" He said thinking fast. He snapped his finger's and Hot Shot was whisked away from Gadget's noogying of his head.
"Ahh no fare!" Gadget pouted looking at Discord with big eye's. The Princess's however were not happy. There horn's flared to life. Hot Shot was ripped from Discord's grasp and placed down on the floor between the two royal sister's. Discord was trapped inside of a bubble.
"How did you get out Discord?" Celestia asked a fire blazing in her eye's turning them a visible orange color. He chuckled a little bit.
"You've got the wrong guy. After all i would have never gotten out if it weren't for you'r little knight here." He said gesturing to Gadget. Gadget froze.
"What?" He asked looking both skeptical and frightened. The Princess's looked from Gadget to discord. Midnight and Gadget's family and the girl's all looked at Discord. "What are you playing at Discord?" Midnight thought. Discord looked at her and winked. She looked at him stunned. He just chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Gadget asked not amused in the least. Discord just began to laugh.
"Ahahahhahahahahhha!!!!! Oh the look's on your face's." He said pointing to the group. "You all look so serious." He said wiping tears from his eye's.
"It is so funny to see all of you look so cute with your little face's all scrunched up like that." He said squeeing as he made a baby face. The pony's in the room were not amused. Hot Shot climbed onto the bed to try and get a better look at what was happening.
"Were am i?" He asked. The whole group stopped and looked at him.
"So discord." Gadget asked. "Who is this little guy?" "Hey! I am not little. I'm ten year's old." Hot shot said crossing his fore hooves, holding his head high. He sat down on the hospital bed starring at the group. They all starred at him with look's of pure joy on there face's. He was so cute looking. Discord just shuffled his feet together.
"Oh come on!" Midnight said as she glared at Discord. "Just spit it out already." She said shaking a hoof at him. Discord was stuck between a very sharp rock and a not so good hard space. Well here go's nothing.
"This everypony." Discord said as he waved his hand's dispelling the Princess's shield around him with one hand and brought Hot Shot over to him with the other. "Is a very special pony from the future." They all starred at him. Then Gadget got a closer look at the small colt. "It's Hot Shot isn't it?" He said not skipping a beat. The whole room went silent.
"Hey how do you know my name?" They all except for Gadget gasped. The Princess's all glared at Discord now. They were about to go an arrest him but Gadget got up and walked out the room.
"Honey wait up a sec!" Ruby said as she ran after her son. Hot Shot looked sad.
"Did i do something wrong?" He asked. The whole group starred at him. As much as Midnight thought about hurting Hot Shot all those time's she could not bring herself to hate this little foal. He might have been the monster they all knew but now he was a small colt looking lost, sad, and confused.
Gadget needed to think. "What was he thinking!?" He mentally shouted. How could he possibly think that bringing him here was a good idea!? He trotted through the hallway's lost by now from not paying attention to were he was going. Oh great! Now were am i? He looked around and saw that he was in some random section of the hospital. Figure's. turned around and trotted back down the hall. After a good 15 minute's of searching he got back to the main lobby. His brain was still abuzz with question's and anger.
He stomped on the floor. "Discord why did you have to go and do that!?" He was trembling now. He didn't know how to feel. Just moment's ago he had been playing with one of his greatest foe's and acting like a child. "Why? Why did it feel so fun? Why can't i hate him"?
"Because you idiot." Gadget spun around and saw Midnight standing there. He face was a whirlwind of emotion's. He settled on hurt and confused. Midnight just looked at him with compassion.
"Who in there right mind'w would ever hate a foal?" She said nuzzling him. Gadget's face burned but his expression remained neutral. He nuzzled her back.
"I know he's only a foal now but what a---" No but's." "But." "No!" She said gripping his face in her hooves.
"That child in there is scared and lonely right now. He need's help and love. Not scorn and hate. He is not the same stallion as before." She said looking into Gadget's eye's. They showed that he was thinking about what she had to say. Finally they widened in realization and defeat. He laughed.
"You know you were born for politic's." He said still chuckling. The two made there way to Gadget's room Midnight leading the way. She to was chuckling.
"Yes well if i'm going to become a princess then i shall have to learn the trick's of the trade." She said as Gadget held the door open for her.
"Lady's first." He said bowing. She snickered. And with a bow of her own added, "Why thank you Sir Sky-Rose. You will make a fine knight indeed if you carry on like this." As they both entered Gadget saw his mother out of breath.
"What happened to you?" He asked. She glared at him.
"I was looking for you and ran about the entire hospital."
"I was only gone for a good 20 minute's." He said. They two stopped arguing as they heard crying coming from across the room. All head's turned to Gadget. He looked sheepish and mad, mostly at himself. He sighed and went over to the bed. "Am i really going to do this?" He asked himself.
"YES!!" Gadget screamed and turned around to see the Princess's all looking at him with stern face's. He gulped and went back to approaching the bed. "Great not even my own thought's are private anymore." He grumbled to himself. "No my knight they are not." He heard Midnight say in his head. He shook his head. He got to the bed and saw Hot Shot curled up in a ball crying.
"Oh boy hear go's nothing." He cleared his throat. Hot Shot looked up and whimpered. His big sad eye's quickly melted any animosity Gadget had toward's him.
"Look kid." Hot Shot flinched but he didn't back away.
"I wanted to apologize. For the way i acted earlier." He said rubbing the back of his head. Normally he was good with kid's but now he was struggling. "This is going to be a lot harder than i thought." He looked down to see Hot Shot looking off into the distance.
"I'm sorry to." He said.
"For what?" Hot Shot looked around.
"For intruding on your live's like this." He said looking downcast. He got to his feet and hopped off the bed. He made his way over to Discord.
"Mr Discord can you take me back?" He asked. The group was shocked. Discord looked a little pale.
"Well you see kid.." He said leaving his sentence hanging. Hot Shot looked confused.
"What? You can take me back can you?" He said looking more and more worried by the minute. Discord looked around all of the pony's were starring at him.
"Wow tough crowd." He said.
"So can you or not?" Hot Shot asked in a loud tone. Discord sighed.
"No kid i can't." Hot Shot mulled this over.
"WHAT!? WHY NOT?" He yelled. All of the pony's covered there ear's at the foal outburst. Discord just stood there.
"Well you see kid your timeline doesn't exist anymore." Discord said in a matter of factually voice.
"What?" Gadget said moving towards discord. His eye's were red now.
"I thought we got rid of that?" He asked. Gadget was not amused.
"This isn't my alter ego. This is me pissed off." He said as he stood beside Hot Shot who was trembling now.
"So how come the great spirit of chaos can't rip a hole in the very fabric of time and space and send him back to were he belong's?" Gadget said making Discord more uncomfortable by the minute. Discord smile awkwardly.
"Because were he belong's has to exist. His time line is no longer a part of our reality." He said as he settled down on the floor. Hot Shot looked like he had been socked in the gut.
"I can't go home?" He said in a small voice. Granted his time was one of tyranny and oppression but it was still his home. Plus all of his friend's were still there. He sat down shocked at the new's.
"So what happen's now?" He asked in a small voice. He was lost.
"Does that mean i'll have to go into a foster home? What if no pony will take me? What if i'm just an outcast? Doomed to go from foster home to foster home----" His rant was cut off by Gadget's laughing.
"Hey what's so funny?" Hot Shot yelled at Gadget. Gadget pointed a hoof at him.
"How am i funny?" He asked.
"Because you have nothing to worry about." Gadget said as he wiped tear's of laughter from his eye's. He looked at his parent's. They looked back. Then there eye's lit up in surprise.
"Oh no you don't mister." Ruby said as she backed up.
"You were enough of a handful as it was." She said waving her hooves back and forth. Gadget got a devious grin as he hoisted Hot Shot into the air and brought him over to his parent's. He held him in the air and brought him up to his mom's face.
"Oh come on now? How can you say no to this face?" He said shaking Hot Shot a little bit. Hot Shot however had a scowl on his face.
"Put me down." He said. Gadget just smiled wider.
"Oh so you want to go higher?" He hoisted Hot Shot into the air. Hot Shot flailed around a bit.
"No down!" He said a small smile beginning to form on his face. Gadget used his magic to fly Hot Shot around the room. They both began to laugh as the two of them resumed there playful antic's from before. While those two were doing there thing the Princess's were talking amongst themselves.
"Midnight a word." Celestia asked. She joined the two ruler's of equestria.
"Yes your majesty's?" She said as she bowed before them. Celestia and Luna both chuckled at this.
"Well dear sister there will soon be no need for formality's such as those." Luna said as she hugged her younger sibling. Midnight was puzzled.
"What do you.--" Then her brain clicked.
"OH that's right!" She said startling every pony out of there thought's and causing Gadget to loose his control of Hot Shot as he zoomed around the room. Gadget recovered and caught the colt as he was about to smack into Celestia. She sat there at still as a statue however oblivious to the living projectile that almost hit her.
"What's right?" Gadget asked as he sat Hot Shot on his back and walked over to the group. Midnight had a twinkle in her eye as she looked at gadget. That twinkle unnerved him. Then she smiled. That unnerved him even more. Before he could run Midnight grabbed him in her magic and began to twirl him around the room.
"I'm going to become a princess!" She said as she stopped spinning, letting Gadget fall to the floor in a heap. Hot Shot had clung to him for dear life. As Gadget landed on the floor Hot Shot jumped off his back and poked him in the head.
"Are you ok?" Gadget felt sick.
"Never better." He said as the room continued to spin around. Meanwhile The whole group gave Midnight a big hug.