• Published 3rd Nov 2021
  • 3,305 Views, 287 Comments

Family Begins With You - Jmaster49



The Sirens devote themselves to protecting Canterlot City and each other as they come to understand human holidays and traditions.

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Arc X Episode VI: New Hopes

“...And after that, I was given capital torture,” Keiji went on, “...I was electrocuted until my skin was fried into numbness by charged thunderclouds from pegasi, flogged until I bled apart by the earth ponies, and lastly…burned to death by the unicorns. But something happened. Something…they weren’t expecting.”

“...What was that?” Sonata asked as she tried to keep her voice from breaking.

“...I had survived it all,” the vamp boy replied, “Turns out my years of experimentation had borne fruit and my blood had been magically enhanced. Needless to say, I wasn’t going to die by bleeding out. So…someone there who apparently worked for some guy named Starswirl--she banished me here thinking it would get rid of me for good.”

“Ouch…” Sonata looked down at the ground and sighed, “...You too, huh?”

Keiji nodded. “Yeah, I suppose we have something in common in that regard. Guess that crusty old bastard had quite a few followers all over that world.”

“No kidding,” Sonata raised her head up and looked at him. “But I can’t imagine being in a situation where your family is willing to abandon you like that…”

The boy scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I don’t need your sympathy…but I suppose I’m grateful that you--”

Out of nowhere, Sonata pulled him against her for a tight hug while sobbing quietly. “I’m sorry…I can’t stand it. The fact that your sisters were so…mean to you as well as your own mom. I can’t imagine something like that. I was lucky enough to have two amazing older sisters that cared about me. But all of your older sisters did the exact opposite of what older sisters are supposed to do.” She started to gently caress the top of his head, patting him through the hug as tears ran down her cheeks. “They’re supposed to protect their younger siblings. Not hurt them…”

“...” For the first time since he arrived there, Keiji started to cry as well--though he kept his sobs to a minimum where they couldn’t be heard as the tears ran down his face. “...Yeah, well…there’s nothing I can do about it. That’s my situation and I have to make the best of--hrrk!”

Sonata broke the hug, and put an arm around his shoulder. “Listen…if you want, I can like…try to be your sister?”

The boy froze in place for a moment as he stared up at her. “...And just why would you wanna do that?”

“Because I…I want to make your new life better,” Sonata pleaded, “You deserve a good family too, you know.”

He broke free of her embrace and started walking off in order to catch up to Sunset. “I’ll think about it. For now, let’s just see what Sunset’s planning.”

“Guys, this way!” Sunset called out to them from the end of the street corner. “We’re almost there!”

“Coming!” Sonata called out as she turned to look at Keiji. “...Listen, little bro. Sunset Shimmer can feel and see everything you’ve felt with a touch of her hand. Let her in…and things will get better, okay?”

Since the blue girl had graciously extended her compassion towards him, Keiji couldn’t reasonably refuse that offer. “...I’ll…see if she’s willing to help out in that regard. For now, let’s just see what she’s talking about here…”

They followed Sunset all the way to the edge of the city where a certain farm was located…

“Here we are,” said the orange girl as she gestured towards the farm with an open hand, “This is our plan for you, Keiji.”

“...A farm?” the boy crossed his arms and raised a brow, “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“No, see…I know you’re a vampony and from what I’ve researched, vampire bats like to drink blood primarily from animals, right?”

“...Yeah…?”

Sunset put her hands behind her back and looked at Keiji with a knowing smile. “Weeeeell…what do you suppose we help you? You work on Applejack’s farm and she’ll give you all the animal blood you want.” She turned towards the farm and called out, “Right Applejack?”

“Yup,” said the farm gal as she exited the garage covered in oil and grease. “We know ya been stealin’ blood from them banks, Keiji. But we ain’t gonna expose ya to the authorities if you’re willin’ta work that off.”

The boy stopped for a moment and thought aloud. “...Blood costs money here, huh?”

Sunset nodded. “That’s right. The blood you took from those hospitals are used for transfusions and other medical procedures. Thankfully, they have loads to spare, but we can’t let you keep taking from there. If an emergency happens and no one can get the blood they need…”

“I see now,” Keiji replied as he closed his eyes, “As a man of science myself, I’d hate myself if I was the reason why other people couldn’t get what they needed to survive.” He looked over at the farm. “...So I’d be working here, and the money I make will be donated to the local hospital, yes?”

“That’s the long and short of it, my guy,” Sunset offered her hand, “Do we have a deal?”

“...” Keiji stared at her hand for a moment, and remembered what Sonata had just told him not long ago. From the corner of his eye, he could see the blue girl nod her head in approval. So…he accepted. “You’ve got a deal, Shimmer.”

And as soon as his hand came in contact with hers…

“...!”

Sunset’s eyes went solid white…and she was able to see everything. Every detail that Keiji had told Sonata moments ago, it was all true. And she bore witness to all of it. Every slap, every hit, every mean comment, everything that Keiji had ever suffered through up until he was executed and forcefully ejected into Equestria by another one of Starswirl’s followers…

“...”

When her eyes reverted back to normal, she looked down at the ground. “...I’m sorry.”

“...You saw it all, huh?” Keiji asked with a sigh, “Well there it is. Now you know the truth. Happy now?”

“No, I’m not,” Sunset answered pointedly, “In fact, it makes me furious that such a family would even exist and treat you that way.”

“Yeah well…” Keiji scratched the side of his head, “Ain’t much you can do about it.”

“...As much as I wanna ask about how his blood magic works, I can’t just ignore who he is as a person.” Sunset thought to herself. “I can’t just…appeal to him and force him to join our side just to have a powerful asset. That wouldn’t be right. He needs time to adjust so the least we can do is give him time to find his own way.”

With that in mind, she accepted his words. “I completely understand, Kei. Take your time and get used to this world. No pressure.”

Her words were rather…surprising. Keiji raised a brow and replied, “...Huh. Thanks…I guess?”

Applejack beckoned him over. “C’mon, milk-boy. I’ll show ya whatcha gonna be doin’.”

As Keiji walked over, Sonata addressed Sunset with a query. “Think he’ll be okay?”

“I hope so…oh yeah, by the way, Rainbow Dash said something about her dreams being messed with. Know anything about that?”

Sonata replied with a nervous frown on her face. “Oh yeah. About that…”

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