Lost In Equestria

by Lord Midnight

Chapter 1

I crawl along the rooftop silently, there are guards posted everywhere and they might know I’m attempting to escape. They know my patterns and I’m a single whistle away from being hot-dropped by 6 master class warriors ready to capture me and drag me off to Elder. My route has been planned for a week, every little change in the schedule and ministrations of the clan’s estate has altered my route. I must escape, and I absolutely must not be fallowed. If I’m caught on the estate I’m screwed, I can’t escape one master class, much less all six and Elder.

I reach the end of the houses and leap down giving the guard a nod. He’s a friend that I managed to get on my side. All it took was to put the fear of Cat into him then treat him as a friend. I move alongside him posing as a guard using his patrol to get close to the wall. Getting in range, I Step away from my friend to the base of the wall. Flicking my right arm my scorpion chain launches from my hand and the hook catches the edge of the wall letting me haul myself over as quickly as possible. I drop to the ground and press myself tightly into the shadows at the base of the wall.

I’m off the estate but I’m not in the clear yet. I must get out tonight, Damn the punishments and obstacles, I will succeed. I Step across the street and take off running south as fast as I can. The masters won't pursue me once I make it out of the estate’s zone, they are above such antics and encountering unfriendly faces reaches a whole new perspective if they are involved. At best none know I’ve even left my room, at worst Asmodeus is hiding in my shadow behind me waiting for me to meet his eyes so he can launch a surprise doa attack and capture me.

I Step towards a wall and rebound off it landing on the roof above it and turning into a spin kick that will surprise Asmodeus if he is following me. As my foot connects with his side and he grunts and lands into an awkward roll facing me I smirk at his surprised look.

“You didn’t even check your shadows, how didja know I was there?” He growls at me rubbing his side waiting to see how I’m going to handle this.

“Always assume the worst possible outcome and be pleasantly surprised. I’m not gonna stop, even if I hafta leave you here unconscious in Werewolf territory.”

“Theres no such thing as werewolves.”

I facepalm. “You know, that new gang that formed. They operate out of this area, you would fetch them a pretty penny if they caught you. Anyways, attack or walk away. You have until I draw to decide.” I slowly slip my hands upwards to the handles of my swords. I watch with amusement as his face looks conflicted as I slowly and agonizingly draw my blades bearing down on him with my ki pressure. His ki is equal to mine, however when the two are combined it feels a lot stronger than it is. Not to mention the fact that my doa is active at all is enough to give even a junior master who knows what it does to me second thoughts.

“How important is what you are doing tonight to you?” He blurts out quickly looking relieved when my hands stop.

“The M6 of the gaming world and I have several major rare seed importers meeting me there.” I hesitate and a small smile spills across my face. “Also, there's this girl and-”

A look of panic flashes across his face. “I’m out.” He Flashes away in absolute silence. Perfect, even if I wound him I can’t guarantee he doesn’t follow me. His stealth skills are unmatched and his practical combat skills outclass mine by a lot. He is a junior master tier in both unarmed and weapons. Unfortunately for him, tonight isn’t a practical setting and he knows it. I probably would have killed him before I lost my chance to go to GameCon and get my hands on bulbs for the Midnight Lotus. The plant that was the symbol of the Midnight Lotus clan as a result if it being headed by the great Emeris.

It is a breed of lotus created by Emeris, it blooms at midnight then drops its petals only to regrow them and repeat the process once a week. This is symbolic of the secret technique, the Midnight Lotus. They are remarkable plants, virtually unkillable but almost impossible to grow. They require the perfect garden, one with ki flow in the air and love in the soil. The only known place that can even grow them well enough to sell them is a side branch of the Midnight Lotus clan itself. Tonight is going to be expensive, but so worth it.

Satisfied in my escape I turn and head northwest. I headed south in case of pursuit and I need to move fast in order to make it there in time for the opening. The rest of the trip is uneventful, I simply run through the streets as fast as I can ignoring any gangs or beggars that are too dumb to not get in my way at the sight of the Ironheart symbol on my dogi and the swords on my back.

I should explain how the world works at this point, just in case I’m coming across as arrogant or uncaring. The world is rather like feudal japan, except wars are settled on a scale of no more than ten warriors a side and rarely have more than four total casualties. The clan Midnight Lotus stands at the top of the world. They are the descendants of Emeris and possess immense technology and influence as well as many secret techniques passed down by Emeris. The ruler of the clan is considered the king of the world. They exist to make sure that the noble houses follow the rules.

Usually, in life you have a few options. Accept your lot in life as a citizen, go to work where you want, get money, have a family and sire descendants, retire and eventually die. Or you can become a warrior, join a gang and try to become a recognised clan, join a clan and rise through the ranks and become a blooded member, join a guild or covenant. You can even become a professional gamer or do something with technology becoming known worldwide for your achievements. Their are so many ways to earn a living that their are even jobs for people with no arms, legs or other disabilities. So many opportunities and choices depending on what you want and are willing to do. Unfortunately I’m a noble.

The Noble clans are allways warriors, both because of being trained from birth and because we are all descendants of the Altered Ones that fought by Emeris’ side. Birthright is important. I am the first son of my father who was the first son of Elder, that alone means that I must become a great warrior for our clan and will be pushed to succeed. My mother however, she was a direct descendant of Grandmaster Emeris. His blood, the blood that made the Midnight Lotus clan so powerful, flows in my veins. Asmodeus, Acheron and myself are the only children of theirs.

I hope they figure out how unsuited I am to lead and just put Acheron in charge. He is my youngest brother, yet at the age of 14 he’s wiser, smarter and an overall better man than I am. Did I mention he also possesses an aptitude for dual mastery and actually enjoys fighting enough to use it, yet never deals more damage to an opponent than needed? To date I have only heard of him killing a single opponent, a rapist he hunted down and… well lets just leave it at hell must have seemed like heaven after what he did. Theres a reason rape is such a rare crime, rapist lose all rights as human beings and are regarded as scum even worse than blood traitors.

Honestly he’s a perfect head of the house, I think when I get home I’m declaring my support of him as heir. The gaming hall comes into view along with something unfortunate. I land in front of Elder and bow. Theres no point trying to slip past him, I can only attempt to convince him to allow me to go. I’m praying to Death that Elder decides to use the threat and entice approach. As opposed to the knock me out and I wake up in front of two tons of potatoes with nothing but a wooden spoon to peel them with approach. Yes it happened and if this worked right and you're reading this Elder, screw you. That sucked and I smelled like starch for weeks. I get that I risked causing a war by going to that VD&D multiverse clash in Dragonheart territory, but it was still excessive because we could have won anyways. Seriously, I could have taken those six wimps myself and if I had Daos and Archie we could do it without a so much as a single scratch on either side.

Elder looks down at me with a stern look. I feel his doa driving into me from his piercing gaze and gulp. I’m scared of three things in this world. Schetzle bugs(picture a massive flying spider that can shoot web goo 15 feet away and makes a hellish screeching sound laced with the ki it’s capable of using), Valkyrie (she’s my mother’s youngest sister and has a crush on me, a creepy, incestual, caught her stalking me a few times, kind of crush. Honestly I wish she was at least just a cousin, at least that isn’t as bad. She’s 25, hot and we have a lot in common, so don’t judge me.) but worst of all is Elder. He is a grand master with power beyond my ability to even comprehend it. You know those times in games where you see someone whose level is just Lvl. ??, it’s like that except it reads Lvl. OGW?!.

His voice sounds tired, we have been down this road so many times that it’s almost getting routine. “Is going to this really proper etiquette for the heir of a noble house, one with the blood of the Lotus in their veins?”

“Hmm, relatively. In the spirit of modern decorum, no. That is exactly why I’m here, and the rightful heir is back home undergoing the infamous one sense dungeon. In the spirit of the one whose blood makes the Midnight Lotus great, then aye. After all Grandmaster Emeris loved gaming and gardening. He even created the game I’m here to play himself. So in short, in the spirit of the modern times no, in the spirit of our ancestors, it would be a travesty to miss it.” Rolled for charisma, calculating speech check.

“Do you understand what you are saying, making a declaration like that to your Elder? This is tantamount to pledging your blade to young Acheron.”

I nod. “I know when I am bested, Elder. He’s a better man than I am and holds a lot of promise for the future of our clan. I need to ask him how he feels about it first though, before I support him for something he would hate.”

He laughs. Speech check passed, entry to Gamecon now open. “Alright then, I can accept this answer. Now normally I would levy a few threats to gauge just how much you want to go to this thing, however I can tell your passion from the fact that your doa is actually at it’s proper potential and withstanding my gaze. So how about we get down to the end. Emeris was a warrior first, a gamer second and only became a gardener later in his life as he sought inner peace after the deaths his revolution and chaos his inventions wrought.”

I cut him off, an extreme rarity for me to the point he actually quiets down and listens to me calmly as my words drip with venom. “Grampa, ya think I love gardenin’ because the plants are such good conversationalists? I’m not like the rest ah ya, I find no joy in killin’, only pain. Bein’ able ta create life, ta help it to flourish and grow. That’s all that’s keepin’ me sane, do ya remember the night I first built the garden? How I had ta wash da blood I got over everythin’ I set up that night the next day? How I attacked any who drew near to me? Does that sound like I started gardenin’ because it pisses ya off?” I calm down a little as my emotions settle.

“I started gardening because I knew it helped Emeris in his time of sorrow. I was desperate to make the pain stop, to get rid of the faces haunting me. I found that it helped, so I let my passions consume me. I know that even though I am but an instrument of destruction, there is still a part of me that maintains its humanity. I know that beneath this Altered body is a gentle soul that just spent 3000 coins to acquire a Midnight Lotus. I know that within my mind that's treats every situation as a potentially hostile scenario and automatically calculates how best to kill everyone around me at every given moment is a gamer that just wants to play games and nerd out.”

He stares at me and I think I see a hint of shock beneath his nearly perfect poker face. It cracks and in a rare moment I see my grandfather's real face behind the mask of the Elder. Concern, sympathy, shock and pride are etched into his face. “This is… why haven't you ever told me this before, Kitty?” He pulls me into a hug and gives me a smile. “You honestly managed to acquire the holy flower? They say that only the inheritors of Emeris’ spirit can make them live.”

“I have a secret weapon. Did I ever tell you I explored the ruins of the Laboratory in my youth?”

He looks at me sternly. “You are in your youth, when was this, last week? Actually no, you went into the Laboratory and came out alive? How exactly did you manage? Very few ever get inside, and none have ever come back out alive.”

I smirk. “It was a month ago actually. Emeris was a gamer, after I passed through the genrecog gate I found myself in a VD&D style dungeon brought to life. Like I had to put on gear and fill out a character sheet and everything. There was even a giant mechanical dragon at the end that took forever to kill but never stopped being interesting because of its varying style and abilities.”

“Just how far did you get?”

“All the way, he had a vault at the end. It was a gift for his descendants that had followed in his footsteps. It turns out that he knew that what happened was a possibility and left all this behind for future generations. Inside was a beautiful pair of swords, designed for the sun moon style and unmatched by any I’ve ever seen. There was also a full body suit of tartarite woven cloth, the real stuff not that modern imitation. There was also several books and a case I can’t figure out how to open labeled ‘Who are the Elements of Harmony.’ I tried inputting the whole honesty, loyalty, generosity thing in the six input slots, but nothing happened. It just flashed up the words ‘Who, not what.’ I’m gonna finish reading the books later and maybe see if I can find anything in the lab itself later. I’ve got a key card and have been added to the system now, so I can explore at my leisure.”

His eyes shoot to the new swords that he hadn’t questioned before. I barely see the blur of his hands as they leave my sheaths. He stares at them in shock. “Do you even know what you are walking around with Katdestro?”

I nod. “From the level of craftsmanship and the logo I’m guessing they were forged by Emeris himself with the secrets of metal and a shard of his soul.”

He shakes his head and I feel sad. He hold the blades in front of my showing my the inscriptions on the hilts beneath the caps. ‘Luna’ on the moon sword and ‘Celestia’ on the sun sword. “These are blades forged by his master, Katdestro, your namesake. They were his ultimate working and it is said that rather than a shard of his soul he took what was left of his heart and forged that into the blades. Kat these are The Sun Moon blades. These are Emeris’ personal weapons. They are as unmarked and perfect as the day they were forged despite the thousands of battles they partook in. I do not know what is inside that box, but once you open it I don’t doubt it will change the world.”

I take the blades back reverently and slip them into their sheaths. Celestia and Luna, an odd naming for a pair of sun moon swords. Seriously if he’s just going to name them Sun Moon, why not just name them Solar and Titan? Why the lesser used female variants? I smile, it does feel oddly fitting, there is something almost feminine about the blades. The sun blade has gold decorations and whispers of life and light, while the moon blade had silver decorations and whispers of quiet and darkness. They have a regal bearing and I love them even more now that I know what they are.

“Now, I suppose you have things to do, and I have a rogue grandson to pretend to be hunting for, once you get inside even I can’t touch you, after all not only is it forbidden, once inside Lotus territory you outrank me. So perhaps I just arrived too late?”

“Meh, just tell em the truth. You found me and remembered how fleeting youth is. Just don’t mention what I told you about gaming and gardening please.”

“I must admit, I respect how much you hate even white lies.”

“There are no white lies, the concept of a white lie is simply a lie we tell to ourselves to make us better liars, but you're right it’s starting and I have people to meet and conceptual asses to kick with metaphorical magic.”

I head off into the convention. I must admit I get quite a few turned heads and strange looks. A security guard comes over to me. He looks very tense.

“I’m sorry sir, but this convention is for gamers only. You can punish whoever escaped when they come home, however, you hold no jurisdiction here by order of the house of the Midnight Lotus.”

“Relax, I am a gamer. Let me tell you I almost didn’t make it. Well to be honest I didn’t make it but in the end Elder decided to allow me to come inside after a heart to heart. Now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got some friends to check up on. I swear if they haven't managed to reach our goal yet I’m gonna to be annoyed. I managed to hit 60 on my main and 53 on my alt, while enduring training and missions beyond their comprehension.”

He relaxes. “You're going into the VD&D battleground arena? Can I see your cards?”

I look him over, he seems like a legit guard, but he might have been bribed.

“Lol, no. Not saying I don’t trust you but gaming is a competitive world and I have many rivals who would love for me to die in this event. Were playing looting rules after the prelims with an incompetent angel clause. If you die you lose all your gear to the survivors and get res’ed after the match with half your level and the Curse of the Incompetent Angel that can only be gotten rid of by either complete the Black Gate dungeon, or winning ten consecutive scenarios without dieing.”

He smiles and this time it reaches his eyes. “Very well, have fun. Wait, are those swords real? I’m going to need to hold on to them for you until morning.”

I sigh I’m not letting some incompetent guard touch them. “Are you even worthy to handle them?”

He looks at me annoyed. “I get your a noble, but just because they're expensive doesn’t mean anything. Just what great deeds have they done to require worthiness?”

I slip them out of there sheaths and hold them up so he can see Emeris’ mark inscribed on the base of the blades. He eyes boggle on seeing the mark. “They forged your entire world. I’ll only surrender these blades to grandpa Set.”

He shrinks back in realization. Here, in Lotus territory, I am a prince in my castle. “I’m sorry sir, I wasn’t aware any of the house of Midnight Lotus were in attendance tonight. Wait, I’ve heard of you! The Prince of Cats! Ohmygosh! You’re the one who-”

I sheath the blades and cut him off sighing at the title I hate. To me the tittle is simply a reminder of the worst week of my life. “I’m just Cat tonight bro. Gaming isn’t a hobby suited to an heir of a noble house after all.”

He nods overenthusiastically and pulls out a pass cover from his back pocket that he fits over my pass. Exactly as I was hoping he pulls out the black pass with the Lotus insignia on it. Where normal guests here are categorized under Gamer, Merchant, Visitor, Guest and VIP, and ultimately DND, this signifies do not disturb. I thank him for the DND badge and head off to find my friends. They managed not only to meet my expectations, but have passed them. For once we are all around the same level, even Johnny who was only at level 30 last time I saw him. We explore the convention together shopping and make our way over to a section of limited edition scenarios.

One smile and a flash of my pass later the six of us sit down at the Virtual Dungeons and Dragons table. I plug my main into my slot and say “Honesty.”

“Loyalty” Bolt activates his card with his typical rogue grin. He runs his hands through his bright blue messy hair, not for the first time I look at the roots of his hair and wonder if he’s telling the truth about it being his natural color or if he is really good at dyeing it.

“Generosity” Susannah is calm, between her natural regal attitude and beauty sometimes I wonder if she’s going to end up marrying into a noble family.

“K-kindness” Shady is looking at us through the curtain of raven hair. She’s cute, short, lithe and shy. It was thanks to her that I even have friends, yet I can still count the number of times she’s met my eyes on my hands. It’s a bit of a pity, she has such gorgeous blue eyes that have something deep inside that draw you into their depths.

“Giggling! I mean Laughter!” Johnny is our groups relatively newest member and we quickly figured out he’s got a few screws loose, a couple replaced with silly putty too.

“Magic.” Donavon closes the book he was reading with a snap and speaks to finish the ritual to activate the game and it begins.

Comments

[Aura Zero]

Lvl OGW.

[Texus]

Sorry, not really sure how this is going to work, but I guess he is accidently in Equestria next time. It is not that I´m not interessted, but I usually want to skip the text a few times, till the time in Equestria finally starts.

Well till now I think everything that should be important, well they probably talk about it again.