Family Begins With You

by Jmaster49

Arc VIII Episode II: Old Wounds

Diamond Tiara had taken Keiji upstairs to the second floor where her room was located, and had instructed him to go have a bath in the room that was connected to it. While he was doing that, she went ahead and had one of her servants gather up his clothes and take them to one of the nearby laundry rooms to be washed. After that, she was standing in front of one of the hallway closets, picking out some clothes for him to wear until his current ones were clean.

“Let’s see…I’m sure dad wouldn’t mind if he wore one of his old white tees…” she muttered while looking over the piles and piles of extra clothes.

But then, her attention was ripped away yet again. Thanks to voices from down on the bottom floor.

“TWO WEEKS?!” Spoiled cried out, “Why in Lord’s name do you need to be away for so long?! Are you even trying to make it back here for Christmas?!”

“God-dammit, woman--don’t you realize how many flights to Canterlot City are being scheduled?” Filthy responded, “As the owner of the local airport, I gotta make sure their supplies are all in place so the employees can get enough vacation time.”

“Ugh--that’s fair I suppose,” Spoiled sighed in return, “But I want a call from you every two hours while you’re there. I don’t want you doing anything crazy out there. Remember last year?”

The man’s voice went cold. “D-don’t remind me of that--”

But Spoiled was still going. “Oh no. I’m going to keep reminding you of it. I’ll never forget that day I saw on SnapGap where you were knocked out next to some other harlot on the floor!”

“I told you, someone spiked my drink!” he retorted, “That shit wadn’t my fault!”

“Even so, I don’t want that happening again. You are to call me every two hours and that’s final. Understand?”

“Fine.” Filthy could be heard muttering something under his breath. “Talkin’ta me like I’m some child that can’t take care of myself…”

“Oh-ho!” Spoiled caught wind of the sarcastic comment and laughed hysterically. “Well isn’t that hilarious. This coming from the man who made phone calls to every store in the city telling them that his own wife--a grown woman--can’t buy what she wants with her money?!”

“I--b--that’s different and ya know it, woman!”

“You’re one to talk--what kind of man are you?!”

And all the while, Diamond Tiara listened to them argue from upstairs. She leaned on the second floor’s polished wood railing with a sigh as she rested her head on her arms. “Ugh…same old crap different day around here. I wish I knew what to say…”

“...Your folks don’t really get along, huh?” Keiji’s voice called out from behind her.

“Not recently, no,” Tiara answered with a huff, “Things have been getting worse but…that’s besides the point. I don’t wanna bother you with my personal problems.”

“Right…” Keiji replied quietly and changed the subject as he figured it wasn’t his place to comment on such a thing. “Anyway, thanks for helping me out. But uh…where are my clothes?”

“Oh, they’re being washed,” Tiara said as she finally turned around, “I’m gonna give you some of our spare--” But when she looked at him, she instantly stopped dead in her tracks and shut her eyes. “What the--you nimrod! What are you doing standing there with the door open?!”

Keiji was standing there with a towel around his waist and head--shirtless and completely oblivious as to what she meant. “Eh? What’s the problem? I was just looking for my clothes that I apparently need.”

“You’re--you’re supposed to wait inside the room until I give them to you,” she spoke in a hushed state of frustration.

“Oh…huh. I guess clothes really are a necessity here--unlike Equestria.”

“Oh that’s it. He’s from Equestria and ponies don’t normally wear clothes so he’s not used to it yet. That makes sense. At least he had the decency to put on a towel.” Tiara shook her head and opened her eyes. “Alright, well just know that we wear clothes here in the human world to cover up…parts of our bodies that don’t need to be seen in public.”

“Ohh…those parts.” Keiji understood right away and didn’t press the issue further. “Fair enough. So what were you about to give me?”

Tiara went to the hallway closet and pulled out a white tee, some black cargo shorts, and a pair of socks. “These used to be dad’s when he was younger, so I think they’ll fit you…” she trailed off as she looked down at his bare, somewhat muscular chest. There were about four large welt marks clear as day traveling diagonally across his chest that went around to his back--healed wounds that appeared to be from either a burn or electrical scarring. “...”

“...Is everything alright?” he asked, genuinely confused as to why she was looking at him so closely, “You’re looking at me like a mouse that’s found a cat.”

“...Your body,” she muttered, “Did you get those scars before or after you came here to this world?”

Keiji accepted the clothes and looked down at himself. “...Looks like my injuries did carry over into this world. Dammit all.” Unable to come up with a response, he simply turned his head and gave a quick answer. “Before.”

“...” As much as she wanted to ask what happened, she didn't want to pry further into something so personal. She could see how uncomfortable the questions were making him, so she decided to not press the issue. After all, it’d be rude to do the very same thing she requested of him just moments ago.

“...I see. Anyway…” She turned, and walked off towards her room. “Come join me in my room for a bit when you’re done changing if you want. I’ve got video games and movies if you’re into that.”

“Hm…” Keiji gave it some thought as he watched her walk away. “It would be rude to refuse the princess of this castle. She’s not like the others.”

---

Meanwhile, across town, at Sunset’s house…

“...Blood magic?!” she shouted over the phone as she wrote in her journal with her left hand, “Are you sure, guys? It wasn’t just red crystals was it?”

Over the phone, Pinkie would reply first. “Nonono! I’m serious! I could smell the harsh smell of metal in the air when he swung that sword around. It was like he was some kinda dragonblade-ninja!”

Sonata would speak up over the phone next--it was a three-way call. “Totes. From what I recall, blood magic is mega-illegal in Equestria. So I’m betting he was banished here because of it. But I couldn’t spend enough time with him to ask.”

“Where did you last see him?” Sunset asked.

“He was with Diamond Tiara and left with her--probably headed off to her place,” Sonata answered. “Not sure what that’s about but it’s all I got.”

Pinkie chimed in, “Oh. They were on a friendly get-together with each other. Ya know. What friends do.”

The entire line went silent for a moment.

“...Right,” Sunset finally responded. “I’m writing a letter to Princess Twilight as we speak. It’s possible that he’s got some kinda Blood Aether but I’m not sure if it’s okay to just let him do whatever. Then again, I don’t know how we should approach him. The last thing I’d want him to do is stop my heart….brrgh…I’ll keep you guys posted.”

“Got it. See you later, Sunset,” Sonata replied then hung up.

“I’ll keep a lookout for anyone that tries’ta suck my blood,” Pinkie added, “But don’t worry, I bet he’s friendly! Bye Sunset!”

Sunset put her phone down and continued writing a message in her journal to Princess Twilight. “Even so…this is still pretty scary. Dark magic is one thing. But blood magic? That’s something else…” she shut the book once she had finished writing and slumped down onto her couch. “...I hope I won’t have to wait too long for a response.”

Comments

[Natedogg2006]

Good fight scene, and the visualization of his vampiric powers was really good. I feel like I know what you're drawing inspiration from but I can't place it off the top of my head. All a lot of world building going on, so I'm curious where it's still going from here.

[Jmaster49]

11088023
Thanks! Though to be frank, I drew inspiration from multiple sources when making this character. (Hyde Kido and Carmine from UNIST, Dunban from Xenoblade, and Sephiroth from FF7 to name a few).

Stay tuned for more craziness! 😉