Chapter V - Scars, Nobles and Lunch in the City
Chapter V: Scars, Nobles and Lunch in the City
Destruction. That's all that was laid out in a once prosperous city. Ruins of olden style homes, trading buildings, castles and an arena all laid down, levelled to the ground. But amongst all the rubble and chaos, one particular structure stood tall, proud and ominous.
A gate. The largest gates one could ever see in his entire lifetime. It's colours consisting of gold, silver, turquoise and navy blue with markings of a sun in the middle of the gate and rays spraying out from it. The design of the massived structure was intricate to say the very least and it was because of this gate that caused this fine city's destruction. For every gate or doorway, there's always something awaiting on the other side and this gate was a path.
A path to the past or future. This gate allows one to travel through time, where you'll go no one knows.
"Why do you have to go? This is my fault, I didn't close the gates in time. So I should be the sacrifice." Says a young feminine voice, her appearance is that of a teenager with long, blonde hair done into two pigtails.
"No, I won't let you. Rogue said the Eclipse gate needs an extreme power to close it. My magic gets stronger every time I fight, so mine should be more than enough to close the gate. Forever."
"But why? Fairy Tail won't be the same without you. You're way too important to me, I don't want to lose you too."
"Why? Because I have to. If the gate isn't closed now, who knows what'll come through? More dragons? Guys as evil and as strong as Rogue? I can't risk that Lucy, you know it too." The man said. Letting loose from the girl named Lucy's grip, he began to walk forward towards the giant gates. Lucy began to chase after him but before she could move even one metre, a giant wall of fire erupted from the ground upwards, creating a barrier between the two people.
"No!" Lucy screamed, tears stinging her eyes like wildfire.
"I'm sorry Lucy but you can't stop me this time. I'm doing this to protect you, I can't bear to see you or anyone get hurt if this happens again. Fairy Tail is my family, you have all treated me so nicely, some more than others. I could never repay that, so thank you. Thank you all for the memories."
"The Eclipse gates are a passage through time, I could be sent to the past or the future. I'm betting on the past because of where the dragons came from. I could be sent ten years back or fifty, maybe even a few hundred. But don't worry, I'll see you all again sometime. I don't know how and I don't know when but I will see you all again. I promise." He said smiling sadly, turning his back from his friend he raised his arm and gave the signature 'L' shape of the guild. It means no matter where I am, even if I can't see you, I will always be with you. Said a small boy with short blonde hair and a red shirt, posing himself the same way.
"Thank you all so much for these many years. Later."
"NATSU!!" Screamed Lucy with all of her willpower, crying a river.
White light was the only thing that welcomed the young man when he entered the gate. Then black, and then into a raining forest.
------
Natsu awoke with a startle, he was breathing deeply and raggedly, sweat dripped down from his brow like on a hot summer day, his eyes showed they were shaken to the core and his hands were trembling like a leaf in the wind.
Damn. That dream again, why can't it just stop haunting me? He mentally cursed. Bringing a shaking hand to cover some of face, he attempted to calm himself down. Equestria is my home now, has been for over a thousand years. Earthland is gone. Natsu sighed, remembering his old home and his family after all these years wouldn't help him go back.
"I need to calm down, maybe a shower or something will help." He said.
It wasn't until then that he had realised something. He wasn't in the same building as where the party was held the night before. Looking around, it seemed that he was in a library of sorts, what with all the masses of books stacked in shelves around him. Whoever lived there was also kind to give him the lounge to sleep on with a blanket and pillow.
"Aw man. I didn't do anything I should regret last night, did I?" He said to no one. "Ehh whatever. Where's the shower room?" Wriggling himself out of his makeshift bed, Natsu begins to walk randomly to an open door on his left. When he enters he finds a well-made mahogany table with six matching chairs, a gas stove, a sink with a working tap and a fridge.
No doubt about it, he had found the kitchen. Well at least I'm not fighting an agro princess who controls the sun and going through walls this time. He chuckled nervously, remembering the first time he met Celestia. BOY was that a bad first impression.
Continuing his journey through the unknown building, Natsu found a basement full of lab equipment and god knows what else. Natsu's blood went cold and shivers ran up his spine imagining what could happen down in the basement. God help whatever gets stuck down there for experiments.
Searching around the library, he had finally found the bathroom. There was a bath, a shower, a sink and a towel rack. Brilliant, time for a shower. Just hope it isn't too small for me. Thankfully, it wasn't. The shower was oddly just the right height for the human to fit in. It was as if someone or somepony expected him to have a shower at a random stranger's house. Natsu had a pretty good idea who but he didn't think it mattered, instead he took off his clothes and turned the water up to a pleasurable temperature.
Fifteen minutes later, Natsu had exited the splendid shower and grabbed a towel off the rack next to him. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he made sure it covered up his private parts. Just in case somepony came barging in, that would not be a nice situation to be in.
Looking himself in the mirror, Natsu saw many things besides his usual self. He saw a monster that had lost and betrayed many. He saw fleeting emotions, such as; joy, happiness, anger, despair. He saw the dozen scars on his body, front and back, from all the situations he had been through in his long years of living. But there was one mark on his chest that concerned him more: it was circular but had octagonal and triangular shapes as well, with a crescent moon comprising most of the structure and three conjoined four-pointed stars in the curve of the moon. Strange symbols marked the outer an inner rings, like runes of an ancient language.
Seeing this mark gave the human great pain, mostly mentally. It was like a sign of all his failures in this world. All he could do was to breathe deeply and attempt to push away all the dreadful memories from a thousand years ago.
"Morning sunshine. Sleep well?" A voice suddenly called out from behind the human. Turning around with cheeta-like speed, he saw the same purple pony who he had met yesterday (and ploughed him through a hill), Twilight Sparkle. But that wasn't what scared him, what scared him was the fact she saw his body of shameful scars. Grabbing his shirt quickly, he put it on.
"It's very rude to barge in unannounced Miss Twilight." Natsu said lowly. Looking to Twilight, he saw that she was only concerned about his body.
Sweet Celestia, his body! Those scars! Why does he have so many?! I mean, he did serve the princess but this is ridiculous. Seeing the way his body was begged so many questions that needed answers. It wasn't until Natsu spoke to her that these thoughts emptied out of her mind.
"About what you saw. Tell. No one." He said, his voice strong, stern and dangerous. The look in his eye made it all the more threatening, like if she did tell somepony that wasn't their business to begin with, bad things will happen. After a few moments, his expression softened and he apologised, ridding the subject by saying it was of no concern of theirs, that they shouldn't involve themselves in something they wouldn't understand.
Before putting the remainders of his clothes on his body, Natsu asked Twilight to vacate the premises. At first she was confused but then she realised she was talking to him, in the bathroom, while he was half-naked. If heads could explode, hers would from sheer embarrassment. The colour of her head turning from lavender to volcano red in a matter of seconds only helped to prove this point more. With speed like one of Alzack's bullets, Twilight left the room without a second thought. Natsu couldn't help but at least snicker in her quick getaway.
"Heh, she's a sweet kid. I can see why Celly likes her so much." He said softly, removing the towel from his waist putting the lower half of his clothes back on.
----
Oh Celestia-damn me! Why in the wide, wide world did I not realise that sooner! Ohhhh I'm going to Tartarus for this! She mentally fretted but her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Natsu's voice from the other end of the door. Hearing his words replaced all the embarrassment with absolute warmth. They were the words of an older brother, maybe even a father, full of careness and compassion.
"You know, it's a bit rude to call me a 'kid'. I am nineteen you know?" She said matter-of-factly, as if the events from ten seconds ago never happened. The door opened to reveal the human with his usual attire on completely this time. Looking down at his equine friend, Natsu held a smug grin on his face.
"Technically speaking, I'm one thousand and thirty-one, so pardon my language but bitch please. Everyone and everypony is a kid in my eyes, you're no exception kid." He said cockily, messing up Twilight's mane just for good measure on his way into the kitchen.
When they had entered, Natsu found Spike already at the stove cooking something for breakfast. Spike welcomed the human with a tired 'good morning'. Reading the clock above them, Natsu read it as 7.04 in the morning. Concerned it was a bit early for a baby dragon to be up, he offered to take over breakfast duty and let Spike sleep some more. Spike refused Natsu's request every time, waving it off by saying it was normal for him to be up this early because he was Twilight's faithful assistant.
"I forgot. Natsu, the Princess sent a letter while you were having your shower. Unfortunately, all her guards are on duty today so she cannot send a carriage for you. You'll need to catch the train to Canterlot." Twilight said, sipping out of a cup of tea Spike had apparently made a shortly before. Natsu's eyes meanwhile, shrunk to pinpricks and a cold sweat once again dropped from his brow.
"Seriously?! But she's the Princess, can't she pull a few strings?" He asked, the shakes of both their heads did not help. "Well how long does it take to get from here to Canterlot by train?"
"Three hours." Spike and Twilight said simultaneously. Two words that sounded easy, were absolutely not so for the dragon slayer. Releasing a loud groan, Natsu let gravity take control of his head and crash it on the table with a loud bang, rattling all the cutlery and plates.
"Fuck."
----3 hours of nonstop sickness later----
"Ugh...I *burp* fucking *bleugh* hate *huurp* trains!" He screamed as best he could while recovering from the train ride, desperately trying not to throw up. The first thing he was going to do when he saw Celestia was ask her why she didn't just teleport him there.
Crawling his way to some shade from a nearby building, Natsu simply laid against the wall trying to regulate his breathing and ease his troubled stomach. He sat down with both legs crossed, one underneath the other. Feebly looking around himself, he saw that all the ponies in the city were keeping their distance from him, not even being within a hundred metres of his body. Normally, this wouldn't have surprised nor upset Natsu but the ponies of Canterlot were the kind of ponies he hated most: pompous, stuffed-up, selfish, greedy nobles. Even with this in mind, Natsu couldn't even scowl at them, he was simply too weak from his motion-sickness.
Tch! Damn nobles, the lot of 'em. Always stuck up and care about nothing but themselves. I hate them. Natsu thought weakly.
"Are you alright there young lad?" Said a sophisticated, male voice. Looking up, Natsu saw two ponies in front of him, one a mare, the other a stallion. The stallion was a white unicorn with a wavy, cerulean blue mane, tail, eyes and moustache. He wore a monocle over his left eye, a casual tuxedo with a blue undershirt and light purple bowtie. Finally his cutie mark was three crowns with purple diamonds in the middle.
His female companion was also a white unicorn. She had a light pink mane and tail with cream highlights, her eyes were a lovely violet colour that contrasted nicely with her mane and tail. Her cutie mark was three strange symbols that looked cross-between a flower and a blade.
Well this is surprising. Never thought a noble would talk to me, let alone out of concern. Maybe this guy isn't so bad. he thought, managing a weak grin. "I've been worse sir. Don't worry about me, it's just motion-sickness from the train."
"Well that's most certainly not alright. You need something to help ease your troubles." Looking to his companion, the stallion asked "Fleur, can you go get the lad some water and some sickness tablets from the pharmacy?"
"Don't bother, it's going away. I still may not be feeling a hundred percent but I'm okay now."
"Are you sure? You sure you don't need a doctor or something?"
"I'm fine, trust me.... You know, I really hate nobles like the ones in this city. But you two are pretty cool, you actually felt concern for my health and weren't afraid to talk to me." Weakly reaching up an open hand, he held it in front of the kind stallion in front of him. "Name's Natsu Dragneel."
"I'm Fancy Pants. The lovely mare next to me is Madame Fleur de Lis." He said introducing himself and his mare companion, accepting the hand with kindness.
"I can't argue with that, she is rather beautiful. Pleasure to meet you Madame, I would bow but I still need a bit to fully recover."
"That's perfectly fine young colt. That is, if I can call you a colt seeing as we have no idea what you are. No offence." She said courteously, bowing her head as a sign of forgiveness.
"None taken. I'm a human being, so when you say something like that you add 'man' on the end. Kay?"
"Okay. Thank you Mister Dragneel."
"And none of that 'mister' stuff please, it makes me feel old. Just Natsu is fine."
"Oh, forgive us then Natsu. Why are you here in Canterlot?" Asked the suave stallion.
"I'm here to have lunch with my family."
"You have family here? Are they like you?"
"Nah, I'm the only human in the world here. My family are...." He said but suddenly stopped, his eyes sharpening like a hawk's. Sensing something was disturbing him, Fancy Pants asked Natsu what was wrong. All Natsu replied with was; "Something's wrong, can't you hear it?"
Fancy Pants and Fleur were confused to say the least. Being ponies, they have a higher sense of hearing than other animals and yet, they couldn't hear a thing except the busy life of the grand city they lived in. So what could Natsu hear that they couldn't?
Natsu began to stand up, when he did so, it was more imposing than the two unicorns originally thought. He pretty much towered over them, at full height Natsu was at least twice as tall as them, horn excluded. Not even saying a word, the young man began to walk away, his eyes remaining as sharp as they were moments ago, without showing any sign of letting up. Curiosity had got the better of the mare and stallion, out of concern and confusion they began to follow close by Natsu.
It was only a matter of mere minutes before the three had arrived in front of a restruant, a very expensive looking one at that. And from inside came the sounds of shattering glass. Some words could be heard but not a whole lot of them, the voice clearly belonging to a male from it's deep tone dripping with wrath.
Not wanting to stand by and watch somepony get hurt, Natsu opened the door and entered the restruant. What he saw, he didn't like. A light green earth pony waitress was on the ground trembling like an ant in the presence of a cyclone, and this cyclone came in the form of an angry unicorn stallion. This stallion was white, had a long brown mane and tail and sky blue eyes. His cutie mark was an eight pronged star, two four pointed stars overlapping each other. The top star was gold while the bottom was blue and he wore a white tuxedo and a blue bowtie. A tuxedo, that had a small, orange spot on his chest region.
"You filthy little wrench! How dare you spill the juice on me?!" He yelled, stomping a hoof right in front of the mare.
"I'm sorry sir! It was an accident!" She pleaded back at him, imploring him to forgive her for an accident.
"You DARE to talk back to ME?! Know your place you useless waste of space!" Spat the stallion as he began to physically abuse the waitress.
Natsu was disgusted by the stallion's actions. Here was a young mare who seemed to just simply make one tiny mistake and he was just pummelling her without mercy. But what he hated most was that two guardponies and many other normal ponies were inside as well, but they just stood there, doing nothing at all. It made Natsu's blood boil, and it takes a lot to do that.
Walking forward, Natsu ignored all the stares he was given and just walk onwards towards his target: the abusive stallion. When he was just a metre away, Natsu clenched his hand shut into a tight fist and punched the stallion in his uptight muzzle who flew right into a wall, cracking upon impact. Everypony in the vicinity froze like statues in his actions. Whoever he just punched, it was somepony important. Not that Natsu really gave a shit at that moment, his only concern was the waitress' safety.
"Oi, little miss. You alright?"
"Y-yes I'm f-fine. Thank you for helping me mister..."
"Natsu. My name is Natsu." He replied, his smile as warm as Celestia's. But that didn't hide the pain he saw before him.
From his perspective, Natsu saw many cuts, bruises and even a sprained hoof. She needed first aid but he had nothing him except the clothes on his back. There's the answer. Natsu ripped off his sleeve and grabbed a vase of flowers. Removing said flowers from the vase, he was left with just a vase of water. Using his removed sleeve as a rag, Natsu plunged it into the vase and moistened it enough for use.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, I'm only going to help treat those injuries of yours. You can trust me." He said soothingly, his expression careful and compassionate. With a small nod, Natsu brought his wet sleeve to the mare's leg and began cleaning it from any infectious bacteria. "What's your name ojou-san?" He asked
"My-my name is Lily Blossom, Mister Natsu. Umm, what was that word you just said? The 'ojou' one?" She asked weakly while being treated.
"Ah, 'ojou-san' means 'young miss'. Rather fitting actually with your beautiful looks, I bet your milkshakes bring all the stallions to the yard huh?" Said Natsu, chuckling at Lily's expense from her furiously blushing muzzle and her stuttering words of objection.
"Why are you just standing there?! Arrest it!" Screamed a voice that undoubtedly belonged to the same stallion he had just hit. Looking behind himself, Natsu's suspicions were proven correct when he saw that poncey asshole again. Only with a swollen cheek. Natsu couldn't help but smile at the handiwork he had caused, it felt good to punch a noble.
"We cannot sir."
"I'll have your heads for this if you don't arrest that monstrosity right now!" Threatened the slightly injured stallion. He was lucky Natsu only punched him and didn't beat him into submission.
"But sir, that is Princess Celestia's little brother."
"Horseapples! There's no way my aunt would have a monster like that for a brother! Explain yourself for this lie!" He screamed again, his anger controlling his state if mind completely.
"It is no lie sir, a few hours ago Princess Celestia gathered all the guards in Canterlot..."
~~~~3 hours ago, Royal Guard training area~~~~
The whole training ground was filled with every single guard posted in Canterlot, even those who were off-duty. A number of the guards were talking amongst themselves, leaving their normal stoic gaze behind, wondering why the princess called all of them out. Whatever it was, it had to have been a matter of extreme emergence. As if their minds were read, the princess walked out onto the field, her regality almost pouring from her presence.
"Atten-TION!" Yelled a white unicorn with deep indigo and gold armour, his rank differentiating from the other guards. His cutie mark revealing to be a blue shield with a pink star in the middle of it and three smaller stars lacing the top of the shield. At the sound of his authoritive voice, all the guards in the area snapped to attention like lightning. "Present hooves!" He once again yelled, bringing his right forehoof up for a salute. All other ponies copying his actions.
"At ease my little ponies. I have called you all here today to tell you of wonderful news. My little brother is coming to Canterlot today for lunch." She said smiling radiantly. It wasn't the same for the guard ponies though. Every soldier's jaw had hit the floor with a simultaneous 'gong'. Stifling a giggle, Celestia continued speaking. "You are all thinking: 'A little brother? How in Tartarus is that possible? Princess Luna's your only family.' That is true, he's not my brother by blood but I trust him with my life. So please be on the look out for him. Any questions?" She asked out to her crowd.
There were a few moments of silence until a grey stallion wearing golden armour stepped forward. After asking permission to speak from his commanding officer and princess, he asked; "How will we know which stallion is him? None of us have ever known of this 'brother' of yours, let alone met him." He said, drawing a few unwanted murmurs from his comrades in arms.
"You don't have to worry about that, you'll know it's him on first sight because he isn't a stallion, nor is he even a pony. But if you still think you won't find him from that, he has a pink mane, a white scarf with a scale pattern and a red mark just like the one I have on my neck." Showing the mark on her neck gave all the stallions and mares an clear conscience on who specifically to look for and started to feel relieved somewhat.
"Now for the bad news." She said with remorse. The tension that had once left returned threefold. "Unfortunately, my brother is a troublemaker and he's much stronger than myself. So if he's in a fight, don't try to stop him until it's resolved. Because if you do, you'll be pulled into it and you don't want that, trust me on this. But also know he never starts a fight without reason. So, this is an official order: none of you are to fight him, nor are you allowed to arrest him, unless it is a matter of grave importance. So if my nephew is bitching about something he did to him, don't bother. And finally, he is allowed free reign over the city and castle. That is all, good luck."
~~~~
"And so, that is why we are not going to stop him. Unless it is important, we will not interfere with what he does." Replied the guard, his stone face remaining ever hardened.
"He just punched me in the face!" Hollered the stallion. But the guards' faces just remained the same stone-cold expression they were trained to hold no matter what. It was a few moments until the guard had replied.
"Unless it is important, we will not interfere with what he does." He repeated. Needless to say, the stallion was most certainly not impressed by this act of defiance from simple guards who're lower than himself. The only one who was impressed was Natsu who just started laughing.
"Get some cream for that burn why don't ya?" Taunted Natsu, who was still laughing.
"You..You are a beast." He grimaced, cringing his teeth at the human who had assaulted and humiliated him.
"And you're an asshole, what else is new? Listen buddy, I've been called stuff like 'monster' and 'beast' for centuries. I don't care what you do to me nor what you call me, but if you ever insult or attack my friends and family don't think you're gonna get away unhurt!" Said Natsu, baring his own fangs at the stallion.
"Friend?" Asked Lily. This was confusing for her, he had only known her no more than five minutes but he was already calling her his friend. Natsu, now looking at the mare had a look of confusion but turned into another radiant smile.
"Yeah, we're friends aren't we?" He asked in return.
"Don't you know who I am?!" Rolling his black eyes, Natsu looked back to the other stallion with a look that could clearly tell he was bored and/or didn't care.
"No and frankly, I don't give a shit."
"I am Prince Blueblood!"
"You, a prince? Don't make me laugh. A prince is supposed to protect, honour, and most importantly, treat his subjects with equality and kindness not treat them like dirt and almost try to kill them after a small accident. So let me ask you a question: what runs a kingdom?"
"That's a stupid question, the thing that runs a kingdom is it's money and most of all the power of the Royal Family."
"You're the stupid one if that's truly your answer. With an answer like that, you wouldn't last one day as a ruler. You'd quit immediately, turn away from your people and run with your tail in between your legs. Because that is what you are. A coward." Picking up his new friend, Natsu carried her as if she was a princess from a fairy tale book.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have lunch with my family and friends." Walking towards the entrance of the building, everypony stayed out of his lest they wanted to be hurt too. But he stopped when he was in front of the two ponies who he had first met. "You two coming or what?"
"But we aren't your family nor your friends." Fleur replied, her head hanging a little and her eyes showed confusion.
"Nuh-uh, there's your mistake. You are my friends, you helped me when no one else would, and that's more than enough to make me call you my friends. Besides, if you come I can guarantee you two things:
1. A free meal
2. A free meal with the princess." He said, the smug grin he had on his face could be seen like a book. If that did not win them over, nothing would have. Thankfully it did, as they followed him without a second thought.
"One last thing. Guards," the human started, not turning his back from the entrance of the restruant. The two guardsponies instantly snapping to attention at their beckoning call. "Celestia said that I was stronger than her in her debrief, correct?"
"Yes sir, she did." He said solidly to his superior.
"Did she happen to say why and how I was stronger?"
"No sir, she didn't." His partner replied, slightly worried about why the princess didn't tell the royal guard why he was stronger than her.
"I see, then let me tell you why: it is because I am a Dragon Slayer. I can do whatever Celestia can't. So, Blueblood," at the sound of his name, Blueblood's body stiffened and his blood froze as he looked upon the dangerous Dragon Slayer. "should I find you treating anypony like this again, young or old, stallion or mare..."
Turning to face the prince, Natsu's face looked both calm and absolutely furious. His eyes adorning slits as pupils, giving them the image of a cat's...or a dragon's, the very kind he was raised and taught by.
"You are going to be playing dragon and you will taste a living hell." As he left, the frozen blood in Blueblood's veins began to boil and stir up all the anger that had been suppressed in that moment.
"Natsu huh? Well know this peasant, nopony makes a foal out of me. I will make you fear me and bow to me you cretin." His whisper barely audible and as dark as if the Grim Reaper himself had settled on his shoulders.
----
After the four had left the restruant, Natsu began ranting on about how fun it was to threaten Blueblood and see his reaction in turn. Fancy Pants, Fleur and Lily were a bit concerned by his actions but in the end, they were just and nopony could deny that. Feeling that it was uncomfortable for Lily being underneath the man's arm, he placed her behind his head like a father does to a filly. She felt like such and it felt nice, especially at the height she was, it was like being in a whole other world, like she was a bird.
It was only a few moments until the four had reached the castle's entrance. At the front of the large, barred gates were three guards; the one on the left bore traditional golden armour, he had a grey coat and a short white mane and tail. The right guard was white in colour with a black mane and tail, he too wore gold armour. However, the gaurd in the middle was vastly different: this one wore dark purple armour and had a two-toned blue mane and tail.
Upon seeing the human and three ponies, he stepped forward a bit, his gaze much harder and fiercer than the others. A true soldier.
"Are you the Princess' brother?" He asked cautiously, recieving a curt nod from the giant being in front of him. "I'm Shining Armour, captain of the Royal Guard. The princess has been expecting you for a while now, follow me." Turning around, Natsu and his friends began to follow the captain until he stopped once more and looked back to them. "I'm sorry sir, but they are not invited, they must remain outside of the castle." He explained, doing his duty, but this did not impress Natsu at all.
"Listen buddy, this girl here is injured from an act of violence from a guy named Blueblood and these other two have shown me more kindness than I anypony else right here, right now. They are staying with me and are coming to have lunch and I'm not going to let you or anypony else stop me."
"Hmph, you are lucky you're the Princess' brother. Alright, all of you follow me and don't fall behind unless you want to be lost for a number of days." Said the captain, smirking slightly. It was an outright lie of course, the castle was big but it wasn't a laypbyrinth. Although there wasn't any harm in teasing the guests a little bit.
After a few minutes of silent treading throughout the castle, Natsu felt a sense of unease well up in his stomach that he could not fathom as he looked at the armoured stallion next to him.
"Forgive me for my comment earlier Shining Armour, I was testing your loyalty."
"No problem at all sir."
"Actually there is a problem. You are over-loyal, you follow orders without question and one day it'll come back and bite you in the ass."
"What are trying to say here?" He questioned, his voice beginning to harden with concern and anger.
"What I'm saying is; there's nothing wrong with following orders. But if you follow them all your life, you'll be nothing more than a puppet."
"I am not a puppet."
"Maybe, but only time will tell. Listen, all I'm saying is to be careful. I didn't mean to step on anyone's shoes, I'm just looking out for you in the only way I know how. Please understand."
His words gave the captain a lot to think about. Was there a boundary to how loyal one can be? Would he have to betray his Princess and ruler to do what's right one day? Or would he sacrifice himself to be a puppet? A pawn?
No, you're wrong. I will never be a puppet. Don't talk like you know what's it's like sir. He steeled mentally. His endurance and resolve comparable to only the best soldiers of Equestria. He remembered to an old book he read as he was just a Private in the Royal Guard, ‘The Strongest Warrior, Salamander’ it was called. He wanted nothing more than to be like The Salamander, it was his dream.
Captain Armour didn't even realise that during his mental debate he was heading quickly into a door that led to the dining room. A resounding clang ran throughout the hallway and earned a few stares from surrounding guards and visitors. Dismissing their concerns, Shining Armour led them into the dining hall where the princess was.
Sitting at the far end of a long, fifteen-foot table was the princess in question, Celestia herself. In front of her was a fine china teapot with matching teacups, five to be exact.
Five teacups? Natsu thought. Looking to see Celestia, she held the normal warm smile she always had but there was a hidden meaning behind it. One Natsu clearly saw once the gears began working their magic. Ohhhhh that bitch, she knew all along.
"Welcome Natsu, and to you too Mister Fancy Pants, Madame Fleur and Miss Lily. I hope your day has been interesting meeting my little brother?"
"More so than you can imagine my Princess. I do hope you don't mind our intrusion into your castle."
"None at all my little pony, any friend of Natsu's is a friend of mine. Please, do sit down while I request first aid for Miss Lily." She said getting up from her chair. Lily opened her mouth to protest but was brought to silence from Celestia's hoof in the air. "I won't take no for an answer, you are injured and need help. But I do see that Natsu has helped you much already hasn't he?"
It was true, her wounds had already been healing since the incident at the restruant. A few of the smaller bruises had disappeared, the larger ones had shrunk to half their original size, her cuts were closing up and the sprained hoof throbbed less and less. It was if a healing spell was cast on her without even realising. But remembering her first impression on Natsu, his justness, his kindness in his words, his smile, the way he had called her 'friend' after only minutes after meeting her had caused her to blush furiously.
A muffled snicker from both the Princess and her brother could be barely heard but were still heard nonetheless. Lily Blossom was so embarrassed that she could just die now. Well that is until she felt something be placed on her head, that thing being Natsu's hand. Looking up, she also saw the very same smile he had given her back at the restruant, he said then that it was mainly his fault the way she was acting in the first place. This specifically piqued Celestia's interest. She asked the immortal dragon slayer what he had said to her in a very annoying older sisterly tone.
"I said because of her beautiful looks that her milkshakes could bring all the stallions to the yard."
"Never thought you were the flirtatious kind of man Natsu. But you are correct to some degree, there aren't many mares as beautiful."
"Yeah, you wouldn't know anything about that would you, grandma?" He mocked, sitting down in the closest chair and putting his feet on the table. Aaaaannnd the penny drops. Everypony present dropped their jaws to the absolute rudeness that had just came from the human's mouth to their benevolent ruler. Celestia herself had an annoyed, disbelief look on her muzzle, a comical cross appearing on her temple.
"Wha-what was that, dear brother?" She questioned, a single eye twitching like crazy. Celestia was struggling intensely not to just jump out of her chair and strangle her rude friend. But that would lower her image a bit in front of her guests, so she tried to calm herself as best as possible.
"Nothing, I'm just teasing ya Celly. What's for lunch?"
"Anything you wish for." She said with a smile, her unease leaving her system. Lucky for Natsu. "Oh yes, I forgot to mention. Captain, how does it feel to meet your hero in the flesh?"
"I-I'm sorry your majesty?" Asked a confused guard captain.
"Your hero is Salamander correct? The strongest, most loyal, honourable soldier ever and my sister's pesonal guardian?"
"Yes your majesty. But The Salmander is only a legend, plus his whereabouts are unknown."
"Oh Captain, surely by now you realise that some legends are true. The Salamander is no exception."
"Even so Your Majesty, what do you mean by in the flesh?" A motion of her head pointing towards the human made the captain get the picture but he did not believe it, he looked back to his Princess again who just repeated the same motion.
"No. Nooooo no no. You aren't...you can't possibly be.." He stuttered, still shocked that the man in front of him was his hero, his idol. Natsu took the hint and introduced himself, including his aliases Salamander & The Lunar Dragon and shook the captain's very shaky hoof. If Shining Armour's smile grew any larger, it would've fallen off his face. "Well my life is complete now your Highness."
"Okay enough of this, time to eat! Excuse me," waving his hand, a waiter with a trimmed moustache came towards him, with the slightest hesitation in his steps. "can you please ask the chefs to make twenty-five bowls of ramen for me please? And none of the vegetarian garbage, I mean proper ramen, meat and everything. Oh, and some sake too please?"
"Umm, Mister Salamander?" Asked a shaky Lily, until she was shot an annoyed glare from the human she was talking to. "Sorry, Natsu, I have two questions." Easing his expression significantly, he nodded his head, motioning her to continue. "You eat meat? And twenty-five bowls of this ramen?"
"First answer, yes I eat meat but don't worry, I ain't gonna eat any of you ponies any time soon. Plus I'm the Guardian of Equestria, can't really call myself that if I eat the citizens can I? Second answer, yes twenty-five bowls because ramen is delicious and I have a dragon-sized appetite." Not even a minute had passed before all their meals came wagoning out of the kitchen. Natsu took great delight when his meal was presented to him. "Awwww you beauty! Thanks for the meal!"
As soon as everyone's food had arrived, the feast began. Fancy Pants and Fleur had a warm salad with some tea that was already provided prior to their entrance, Lily Blossom just had a daisy sandwich and some hay fries with a bottle of apple cider. The Princess had a slice of triple-choc, mud cake with tea and Natsu simply enjoyed and ploughed through his ramen. It took fifteen minutes for him to finish all his bowls. That's thirty-six seconds a bowl. The sheer speed in which he had finished his meal surprised and disgusted everypony a little. However, it was very fun for Celestia to see her immortal friend back to the way he used to be: cheerful, greedy and does not give a damn about anything.
"I am overjoyed that you are all having a wonderful time but I have more pressing matters to attend to with Natsu. Forgive me but I must ask you all to leave now for what I have to ask him is private." Celestia said sadly.
While it was great to have friends around the table for lunch, she really needed to talk to her step-brother. Everypony understood that the lunch had to end sometime and left the table but Lily was upset. She was upset that the lunch was so much fun and yet she had to leave and go back to work to that restruant.
"Wait, Lily." Removing a band from his neck, hidden by the scarf, Natsu gripped it tightly in his hand and threw it over to the waitress. Carefully catching it, Lily took a look at what was in her hooves. It was a coin of sorts with four different symbols based at each nautical point of the coin. "It's a good luck coin I got in Neighjing a few years back, I'm leaving it in your care."
"Thank you very much Mister Natsu."
"One more thing, remember to smile more. Good things will happen if you smile and you can take the rest of the day off of work, I'll talk to your boss. So just go home and rest up." The both of them just sat there as everypony left, once they all left the room and were out of sight, the doors closed with a loud bang. "Well they're gone, what do you want to talk about?"
"Where's your magic gone Natsu?" Putting on a serious expression, Celestia made her way to the other end of the table. Natsu however, just turned his head sideways in confusion. "Don't play coy with me Natsu, I can't feel a single ounce of your magical presence unless we are this close apart and it can only be compared to a newborn foal. So I'll ask one more time, where is your magic?" She said with extreme sternness. Giving up the facade, Natsu removed his shirt and showed Celestia the archaic circle on his torso.
"It's because of this." He said simply.
It looks like an arcane circle, similar to Natsu's but it has a moon and stars in it. Could it belong to Lulu? "And what is that?" She asked nonchalantly but tension grew at the back of her mind.
"Do you remember that last magic beam Nightmare Moon shot at me? That's what it actually was. It's a seal. It was made to completely shut off my access to use any kind of magic. However, like my Karyū no Fuin Jumon, it was still experimental and so, it only partially worked."
"And you know that how?"
"Because I helped Luna develop it." He said flatly, tucking his shirt back in. Celestia was dumbstruck, why would he help make a seal that would shut down his power completely? She was about to scream at him, physically force the answer out of him if need be, but didn't get the slightest chance to. "Before you go off your tits screaming at me, I begged her to do it. I wanted her to make this seal if there was ever a chance of me going AWOL and betraying Equestria. So that it would render me a normal, weak human. I did it for you, your sister and your country Celestia. Besides, no one would care if I was a normal human or not, I'm just a monster to you ponies."
"So what did this seal do to you?"
"It sealed away my healing abilities, my dragon scales, lungs, claws and any other magic I can use. So I'm just basically a human with enhanced strength and senses. Nothing more."
"Can't you break the seal?" By this point, Celestia was becoming extremely worried.
"No can do, it's a seal that can only be broken specifically by the caster, your sister, Princess Luna. If anyone else or I forcibly break the seal" Bringing his index finger to head at point-blank range, he imitated one of Alzack's or Bisca's guns, and pulled the trigger. "bang. You're dead."
"Is there any luck finding Igneel?"
"Nah, none. It's been a long one thousand years, I've met close to a hundred dragons, young and old, but there were never any solid leads to find him, only rumours that led to dead ends." Natsu said, feeling sadder and sadder by each passing moment that he talked about what has appended since the times of the war.
From behind the two, a giant grandfather clock chimed. By hearing alone, Natsu heard four chimes. He was surprised that originally a short visit had turned into a four hour long visit.
"Well, I think I should head back to Ponyville, but first I need to ask your Royal Blacksmith something, could you tell me where to find him or her Celestia?"
"Why do you need to see our Blacksmith?" Cocking a nonexistent eyebrow, Celestia was confused by her human friend's words. Laughing gently, Natsu finished his bottle of sake and said one word with a wink of his eye, secret.
The Royal Amoury and Blacksmith workshop weren't hard to find. Both were built right next to the other and only metres away from the edge of the training field for the soldiers. Needless to say, a six foot tall, bipedal, talking creature walking in your store is not the most peaceful thing to happen. Hammers, swords, spears and magic shots were are flung at the human. It took a bit of convincing (and a smack in the stomach from one of said hammers) but Natsu had managed to get to talk to the lead blacksmith of the store, a brown unicorn with a bronze coloured mane and tail, Iron Forge and his assistant, Black Hammer, a tan earth pony with a golden mane and tail.
After hearing that he was related to the Princesses, they began to apologise deeply and profusely. It had begun to annoy the human immensely after the 200th apology. So much so he would 'hit them over the head so hard they'd have brain damage if they said one more apology'. That certainly had closed their mouths to any other oncoming apololgies.
Clearing his throat, Iron Forge asked what he was doing in the workshop. Going into his clothes, Natsu pulled out a pile of sheets of paper, each with sketches and measurements of something. Looking through the sheets the immortal had given him, his eyes began to widen and shine like he had seen his idol in the flesh. Much like a certain Captain.
"This is...magnificent my liege. This is truly a new way of fighting, but what would you need this for?" Said Iron Forge, still scanning through the pages he had been given, not taking his eyes off of them and memorising every detail.
"I'm sorry but I only wish for you to make these for me, no one and nopony else. These are simply too dangerous for pony hooves." Looking up from the papers, Forge and Hammer's eyes turned to ones of shock. "I'm sorry but please do this for me."
"It's a big waste, but you seem like an honest kid so I'll do this just for you, even repairs when it's needed."
"Thank you Iron Forge and you too Black Hammer."
"Ain't nothing at all mate, in fact, what you've given us is bloody ace. Absolute bonzer!" Said a cheerful Black Hammer, his voice young and accompanied by the strangest accent and use of termonolgy one could ever hear in their lifetime.
"Australian?" Natsu asked with a raised eyebrow, although he had a feeling he knew what the answer was.
"Too right mate. Nice place down unda', you should go there some time."
"I'm a thousand and thirty-one years old, I'm pretty sure I've been to Australia." Turning back to the boss, he asked: "So Forge, you think you can have these done in two weeks?"
"You underestimate us Sir," taking a puff out of his pipe, Forge blew the smoke out above his head. "we can have it done in one. Just need to pull a few all-nighters." He said with a cocky attitude.
"Yeah no, if you have to pull all-nighters just for something unimportant then take all the time you need. I can't have you lose precious hours of sleeping just for something that I want for myself."
"It's great of you to think that way Sir but it's alright."
"No it's not. You will take your time with this, you have two weeks and I don't want to be the cause of any sleep deprivation that you might have."
It didn't take long for the little disagreement to turn into a full blown argument. One side saying health is more important than working but the other hand saying otherwise, that it'd be easier and faster to work nonstop. But it was Natsu who had ultimately won the argument, by a giving an order as Celestia's brother. As much as he hated to use the Princess' name to win the fight, it had to be done.
Leaving the smithery, Natsu felt absolutely tired after the day's events. Having a three hour train ride, meeting and making three new friends, meeting him, having a large lunch and arguing with a blacksmith for nearly an hour took a lot out of a man.
"You finished up with Sir Forge then?" Said Celestia, sitting on a bench near the workshop's opening. Standing up, she walked towards her tired brother. "You want a ride back to Ponyville?"
"Yes please, and speaking of which WHAT THE FUCK?! Why didn't you send a carriage or teleport me here instead of making me suffer for three hours on a train?!"
"Payback for hitting me yesterday." She said with a smug grin.
"Okay, I guess I deserve that much at least. But can you please teleport me back to Twilight's?"
"Wouldn't that affect your motion sickness?"
"I've had thoughts about that actually. Teleportation is moving from one place to another in the blink of an eye, instant transportation. Theoretically, I shouldn't get sick because it happens like that." Snapping his fingers, he enforced the point he was proving. The Princess on the other hand was doing something differently, she was actually staring at him, as if he'd discovered the meaning of life or something. "What?" He asked, annoyed at the way she was staring at him.
"I keep forgetting you're smarter than you look."
"Oh up yours too Celly, can you send me back now?" After having a bit of a laugh, Celestia ignited her horn with a golden glow that wrapped Natsu himself shortly after. He felt lighter when the spell begun to activate, like he was a feather. He also felt, tingly, like small needles were poking his skin but did not pierce it. "I'll come back tomorrow or the day after to see Forge and Hammer again. See you then."
And poof. Natsu was gone. Looking to the sky Celestia did her job as Solar Princess and began to lower the sun to make way for her sister's night. As the time of dusk set on the horizon, she looked down the small town of Ponyville.
"Take care, you stupid idiot."
-------Golden Oaks Library--------
"Oh, I wonder if Natsu's okay?" Grumbled a distressed Twilight Sparkle, pacing away in her home so much a groove was made into the floor. Beside her were all her friends, sitting at a table having tea, cider and sweets for nourishment since their arrival, courtesy of Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack.
"He'll be fine sugarcube. Sure it's nearly time for supper but he'll be back sooner or later." Said the farm pony, trying to ease her friend's tension.
As if somepony above heard Applejack's words, Natsu flashed into the room with a brilliant golden light. Everypony had expression of happiness, especially Twilight, until Natsu collapsed right in front if their eyes.
"Natsu! What's wrong?!" Screamed Rarity. Looking at his face, his eyes were swirling about and his entire face was coloured green like in a cartoon.
"Never..teleporting..again."
And that was the day that Natsu found out that a train ride from Ponyville to Canterlot was fifty times better than teleporting.
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Heh, he can make giant earthquakes with the limited power that he has at the moment. Just imagine what he can do if he retains his full power.
No wonder his hand was bloody when he smashed the ground. Can't wait for Luna to undo the seal :D.
3601056 imagine the power that's going to be coursing through him then...
Hahaha, nice! Dude, he was in Canterlot but didn't see Luna? She was probs sleeping aye? Unless in the previous chapters you said she was away, I forgot lol
I can't wait for the next chapter. This is getting good
3601056 3601354 3601633 3602659 Glad you guys are enjoying it, I'm about a quarter of the way through chapter six at this moment. So, hopefully, it will be out very soon.
3603579
3603579 whats this a crossover with?
3603579 figured it out
3619858 Just off the top of his head. You'll see soon Dirty Bit.
3637893 and re-reading, or you could browse for other Fairy Tail fics whilst we patiently wait for Chapter VI i suggest equestrian crisis, or just look in the anime crossovers
pore nastu
3620337 Actually, humans do have the know-how of something called "Quantum Teleportation". Althought its only one atom at a time. It would take a human 2,000,000 years estimated to teleport, raising questions about souls as you would need the particles somewhere else too.
Natsu.... I love you.