> Four Dragon Brothers
>  by Princess OtakuGeek
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At first glance, one might think that this was a normal day in Equestria. The sun was high in the sky shining brightly as birds sang and other woodland creatures went about their daily business. Looking upon this golden afternoon, it was very easy to forget that not long ago, the world had been threatened with eternal night, though some of the most observant ponies swore that the sun shone the brightest it had ever been today.

Sitting on a carriage departing from Ponyville were two sisters quietly reveling in each other's presence. Luna had leaned against her sister, who had reciprocated her by laying a wing across her back. After her time on the moon, it felt good to feel the warmth and presence of another pony, especially her sister's. The Celestial Sisters had retired from Pinkie's party early because A) there was a lot that they needed to catch up on in private and B) a country doesn't just run itself, especially with everything that happened.

"So much has changed." Celestia was startled out of her thoughts when her sister's voice cut through the quiet.

"Indeed it has, Li'l Lulu." Celestia said as she ruffled hr sister's mane. "A thousand years changes a lot of things, though you'd be surprised how many things remain the same." Luna didn't notice the small smirk that crossed her sister's face as she was looking out over the chariot.

"I imagine I will." She said, and Celestia's smirk widened before she quickly attempted to compose herself before Luna noticed, the younger sister continuing none the wiser. "It seems as though you moved the castle since I was gone."

"Indeed I did, shortly after your banishment the Everfree became too dangerous to live in and it was too... painful." Luna turned at her sister's tone of voice and placed a hoof upon her sister's.

"Worry no more sister, I am here once again." She said. "And I am so sorry for all the pain I caused you. So where did you move the castle."

Celestia looked a little relieved at the subject change and turned forward. "We moved the capital to Canterlot, which you should see up ahead by now." She then paused before speaking some more. "And for the record, I'm the one who should be sorry for not being as supportive as I should've been."

Luna might've said more as a retort, but by then she'd caught sight of Canterlot and found her breath stolen from her chest. This definitely wasn't the Canterlot she remembered.

"Tia, is this truly the Canterlot I once knew?" She asked with wonder as she took it all in. "I remember the days when it was just a mountain fort and trading post."

Celestia smiled at the wonder in her sister's tone. "It's amazing what ponies are able to accomplish." She said as she draped her wing over her sister. Once again, they sat in silence as the chariot came in for a landing in the castle courtyard. As Luna cast her gaze all around, something caught her eye.

"Tia, what is this?" She said, pointing at the Equestrian flag displayed prominently in front of the castle. It was almost like she remembered it, save for one detail. At the center there was still the image of two alicorns circling the sun and moon, representing the balance of power she shared with her sister. What caught her eye however were the additions that had been made since she last saw an Equestrian flag.

Encircling the alicorns as though they were forming three protective rings were four reptilian creatures. They had long serpentine bodies covered in scales with sharp claws and ferocious teeth. They also bore antler-like horns, long whiskers and a mane of fur on their heads that continued down their spines and ended at the tail which had a similar puff of fur at the end. Though they were similar in design, each creature had an individual color. The innermost on was a bright beautiful gold that made her remember sunsets while the second was a majestic blue that reminded her of clear blue oceans and lakes. One of the two creatures that made up the outer ring was pure white like the driven snow and the other was a lovely green that brought to mind lush forests.

"Tia, what are these creatures displayed on our flag and why are they here?" Luna asked once again and her sister smiled.

"Those Lulu, are dragons." Came the answer and her sister gave her an incredulous look with a raised brow.

"Surely thou jests sister, these beings look nothing like dragons." She said.

"They are dragons that originate from the far East." Celestia explained. "I even met a few, and they were very unlike their Western counterparts."

Luna looked surprised at her sister. "Truely? Then thou shouldst introduce us one day." She said. "However that doesn't explain why these dragons are on our flag."

The teasing smirk once again returned and Luna wondered what her sister had in store. "Lulu, do you remember those stories that he used to tell us when we were young?"

A wave of nostalgia crashed over Luna as she thought back to happier, simpler times that seemed miles and miles away. "I do indeed." Luna sighed in a wistful tone as she closed her eyes. "I remember he would tell stories of powerful warriors chosen by dragons to protect this land." She then opened her eyes once more and turned to her sister. "But those stories are just that, stories that he told us before bed."

There was a twinkle in Celestia's eye and she gave her sister a knowing grin. "I don't believe that's true." She then turned her gaze back to the flag, focusing specifically on the four dragons. "I believe the dragon warriors exist and that one day, they will come."
> At the Convention
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

To start a story, one must always start at the beginning and our adventures began at a convention. We had all come in costume and like any other Displaced, we ended up becoming our costumes after purchasing an item from the Merchant. But I'm getting ahead of myself, first I should share a little bit about ourselves. The first thing that anyone would notice about us is that we had very different personalities, yet we still managed to mesh with each other.

Most would wonder how this was possible, but for us, it didn't matter. Despite our differences, we were all friends to the point where we were brothers. Besides, there was one thing that we did share. We were all foster kids. First there was Jack. Jack was the youngest of our group and the most cheerful, always picking up our spirits and helping. It honestly surprised me that he was so positive considering his life. Jack's mom had him by accident and when she gave birth to him, she immediately gave him up for adoption. This was a fact that he knew, yet despite that he still remained cheerful and helpful.

Tony is the oldest of us all and has always been the big brother of our group. He could definitely cook better than I could (Jack was a close second) and was definitely street smart. He was also a shameless flirt, though never to the point where he would bed a woman. Tony has this code and the number one rule is to respect a woman and treat her as a human being, not an object of conquest. I don't know much about his past, mostly because he refused to talk about it. His reason being that that wasn't his life anymore, this was. All I do know is that he was a runaway from a bad situation and I chose to leave it at that.

Then there was Sam. Sam, who's a couple years younger than me, is much shyer and more quiet than any of us. He's not much of a people person and feels more comfortable when he's either with us or an animal. While he's shy, he's also incredibly kind. Sort of like Fluttershy with the chattiness of Big Mac. It wasn't until later that I found out about his situation. Sam's parents had been abusive both physically and mentally. He'd already been a bit of a introverted person and having the parents he had didn't help matters. Fortunately someone in his neighborhood noticed and contacted child services who couldn't get him out of there fast enough.

Finally, there's me, Ben. Thinking on my friend's lives, I find that I have been truely blessed. I was born to loving parents who cared for me. I just didn't have them for long. My mom died in a car crash and my father lost the battle with cancer. After that, my grandmother took me in and raised me until the day came when she couldn't take care of me anymore. So my granny went to a nursing home and I was put in the system (we stayed in touch until her eventual death when I was older). And it was in the system that I met my three closest friends. We never got adopted, but that didn't matter to us. We had each other.

Another trait we shared, our love of anime and manga. While our tastes differed, there were some manga that we all enjoyed. Akatsuki no Yona or Yona of the Dawn was one of these stories. We first found it through the anime and we were hooked. There was just something engaging about the story, the environment and the characters! Oh sweet heavens the characters! Especially the dragon warriors! We all saw so much of ourselves in these four characters that it was almost creepy. So when the next anime con rolled around, it was a bit of a no brainer who we were dressing as. And as I said, that was were our adventure started.

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"Guys guys guys! Come check this out!" Jack shouted as he bounced over towards our table. Tony had just come back with lunch and as while he was gone, Jack had gone ahead to the vendors hall while we were waiting. As Tony passed around Subway sandwiches, Jack bounced into his seat and presented his prize with a grin.

In his hands was the dragon crest like in the anime and manga. And judging by the sound it made when he set it on the table, it was made of real metal. I picked it up to examine it and was even more impressed by the detail of the craftsmanship. Despite all the work and detail that Jack put into his costume, his dragon crest was made of shiny gold card stock with plastic beads.

"Where did you get this?" I finally asked as I passed it on to Tony.

"A table in the vendors hall." Jack answered. "There was this guy selling these pretty sweet costume props. Kinda creepy, but that may just be his costume. He was dressed as the Merchant from Resident Evil."

"Interesting." Tony said as he turned the crest over in his hand. "This is pretty good purchase, must've cost a lot."

Jack however shook his head. "Not really, the guy gave me a good deal for it since I had a great costume to match. In fact, I saw some pieces that you guys would like too. C'mon!"

"Hold your horses Jack, it's lunchtime and we just sat down to eat." Tony stopped our energetic friend before he could run off. He then tossed Jack his sandwich and crest which the younger boy caught. "Settle down and eat your sub first then we'll go check out this booth. It's not like it's going anywhere anyways."

Jack pouted for a moment then nodded and settled back down in his to eat. After we'd eaten our fill and cleaned up after ourselves, we followed Jack to the table in question. As we approached, the vendor welcomed us in a way that made me think that maybe the guy was getting a little too in character.

"Welcome back young costumer." He spoke in a deep raspy voice. "And I assume these are your friends that you told me about."

"Yep!" Jack said cheerfully. "These are my friends, Ben, Tony and Sam. Guys, this is the Merchant."

Tony's eyebrow raised. "The Merchant? Is that what you're calling yourself?" He asked. I couldn't see it, but I swear that guy was smirking.

"Something like that, yes." He said smoothly. "I like to think of myself as The Merchant."

In hindsight, that should've raised a few flags but at the time we just shrugged it off as a fan in character and began perusing his goods. There were lots of cool things here, really well detailed and looking real. I ended up settling on a rubber dragon claw glove that fit perfectly. I'd just painted my hand to look like the dragon claw, but this was better. Sam found a stuffed toy of Ao and a better fur\mask set than the one he had. Tony found some clip on earings and a set of daggers that looked like Jea-ha's. I was surprised a the price but we didn't question our good fortune and set down the money for our merch.

We walked away satisfied with our purchases and went on with our day none the wiser. We browsed around the vendors hall some more and bought some more things. Towards the end of the day however, that's when things changed. We had decided to call it a day and were leaving the convention center to head to our cars when a sudden burning sensation in my right hand stopped me in my tracks. And judging by the exclamations I heard around me, I wasn't the only one.

When I bit back the pain and looked up, I saw that Tony was crouched down and clutching his right leg. Sam had also fallen to his knees and had his hands to his face. Then as I looked over our group, I saw that someone was missing.

"Jack?!" I cried out in alarm as I looked around but there was no sign of our cheerful friend. Before we could start looking however, a wave of vertigo crashed onto us and my vision began to darken as I felt the ground drop from beneath me. The last thing I saw before I blacked out completely were my friends and an errant thought passed through my mind.

'Since when is Tony's hair green?'
> Strange Creatures (edit)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Consciousness brought with it a headache that made me moan and curl up to wait out the throbbing pain. As the headache began to diminish, I was able to take better stock of my surroundings. The first thing I noticed was how hard the ground was beneath me which was confusing. I fainted, right? And not in the privacy of my home, in public. Surely someone would've called for an ambulance or something. And even if I'd only been out for a minute or less I should be hearing people crowding around me, but I heard nothing.

Deciding that nothing was going to get done just laying here, I slowly eased my eyes open. At first my sight was blurry and the only thing I could perceive was the color green. As my vision cleared, the reason for all the green was revealed. I was in a forest. As I climbed up from the forest floor, it quickly became apparent that something was off. My initial examination revealed that I was still a human and still dressed in my costum, though the fabric felt different.

It wasn't until I tried to remove my dragon claw 'glove' that I started to figure out that something was very wrong.

Instead of slipping off my hand, it stayed put and even started to hurt as I tugged at it. Worse still, it no longer felt like rubber. Now it was smooth and felt scaled like I was holding a snake. A cold feeling began to settle in the pit of my stomach and before I could start panicking, I reached up to my head with the intent to pull off the wig I'd used to cover my real hair. I was rewarded with the sensation of my hair being pulled as I tugged my now white locks.

Silence permeated the air as the full implications of my situation sank in. Then in a completely understandable reaction, I started screaming.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH-!"

*SMACK!*

"OOOWWW!"

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It was a pretty normal day in Ponyville. Sun was shining, birds were chirping and everypony was going about their business. The Apples were busy working the farm while Rainbow was napping in the trees. And like clockwork the pegasus was given one heck of a wake up call when she found herself bucked from her perch. As the pegasus and earthpony were arguing, Fluttershy was making her way to town to pick up supplies. In her shop Rarity was busy working and in her castle a certain alicorn princess was busy with her own duties.

Berry Punch was getting ready to open her bar while Time Turner had already opened his place of business and was busy selling and repairing clocks of all sizes and makes. The children had already returned home from school, quickly finished their homework and we're now out playing.

"CUTIEMARK CRUSADERS!! YAY!!"

Which meant that the CMC were also out of school and currently out Crusading. Now that's not to say that anyone hated the Crusaders, but some businesses were somewhat wary of letting the three fillies try to earn their cutiemarks in their establishments. They were eager enough, but they were also a little young and tended to make a mess of things. Mostly to themselves but there were some times when there shenanigans would effect certain businesses.

Like for example the Candied Flower incident. It all started when Bon Bon had more on her plate than usual and the Crusaders offered to help. Not seeing the harm in a few extra hooves, Bon Bon accepted and set them to work making candied flowers. The result was an event almost on the level of the Baked Bads incident and a drop in business for almost two month. Bon Bon's candy shop did eventually recover and in hind sight she probably shouldn't have left the Crusaders alone or have made sure she was stocked up on the proper flowers, but since then she absolutely refused any assistance the trio of fillies offered.

A number of business ponies in Ponyville agreed and there were very few establishments that would allow the Crusaders to Crusade for their marks. Of course they understood that the Flower incident was an accident (after all, how were they supposed to know those flowers were poisonous) they still weren't taking any chances. These facts however weren't much of a factor when the Crusaders approached Berry Punch asking if they could try earning their cutiemarks at her bar. The mare flat out refused for obvious reasons.

"Ah don't know why we thought that would work." Applebloom said as the Crusaders trotted away. "Mah sister is always telling me that Berry's place is fer grown up ponies only."

"Mine too." Sweetie Belle chimed in. "Remind me why we thought that was a good idea."

"Because it's one of the few places that we've tried, there was a slight chance we would find our cutiemarks there." Scootaloo replied.

"Oh yeah, that's right. But if our cutiemarks are there, it looks like we'll have to wait till we're twenty or twenty one." Applebloom commented.

Scootaloo sighed. "Which means our Crusading plans are shot." She said glumly. "That's the only place I could think of that could possibly work. Everyone else is either too busy or they refuse. And I can't get any sort of spell or potion book from Twilight."

"After what happened with Big Mac, I'm surprised we're even allowed the basic spell books." Sweetie countered. "Even then we have to have adult supervision."

"We've already looked through the basics anyways." Scootaloo said glumly. "Point is we are now at a dead end."

"Hmm, maybe not." Applebloom said. "There's at least one pony, or should I say zebra, who might help us."

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Rainbow Dash grumbled under her breath as she fluffed a cloud to nap on. There wasn't much planned for the weather today which meant that Dash had a lot of time to herself. So after completing what weather duties she did have and her training, the pegasus decided to just relax in her favorite apple tree and catch up on some Zs.

Unfortunately, AJ and her brother were harvesting that particular part of the field and not even an hour after settling in and closing her eyes, Dash found herself thrown to the ground courtesy of her friend's buck. Rainbow just knew that AJ did that on purpose, after all she didn't exactly blend into the foliage and her cyan coat with a rainbow mane and tail were rather hard to miss amongst green leaves. And when she confronted her friend, the farmpony didn't deny it.

Ultimately, Dash ended up relocating to a cloud she situated over Whitetail woods not far from the Everfree. However it seemed as though the universe seemed determined to keep her awake because no sooner had she lay down on the soft, comfy cloud than she was jolted awake by piercing screams. Dash's first thought was 'oh c'mon!' Her second was 'that sounds like the Crusaders followed closely by her third thought, 'and it's coming from the Everfree.'

The next second, the only evidence that she'd been there were a few dissolving pieces of a cloud and a prismatic trail.

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'How do I get into these sorts of situations?' Fluttershy whimpered mentally as she attempted to shield the Crusaders from their impending doom. After picking up some groceries, Fluttershy had been returning home when she ran into the Crusaders. When she asked where they were going in such a hurry, they explained to her that they were going to see Zecora for Crusading ideas.

Her first reaction was to try and convince them to not go into the Everfree and the Crusaders in turn of only refused but also somehow managed to convince her to come along. Although in their defense, they did make some very good points. Point number one, Zecora didn't live very deep in the forest so they wouldn't have to go too far. Point number two, ever since the Tree of Harmony had been saved, the Everfree had been pretty quiet. Nopony had even seen the timberwolves. And point number three, Fluttershy was pretty much a friend to almost every animal in the vicinity even a manticore! And even if she wasn't a friend, she was the Stare Master. Thus they had convinced the most shy pony they knew to accompany them into the Everfree forest.

At first it wasn't all that bad. In fact, it was actually kinda nice in the Everfree and Fluttershy didn't feel as scared as she usually would in the forest. Of course that was when things went horribly wrong. About halfway to Zecora's but, the group was suddenly attacked by a pack of timberwolves that drove them off the path and ultimately cornered them. If they'd been attacked by any other animal, Fluttershy would've been able to get them out of the situation by reasoning with them. But these were timberwolves, one of the most vicious, feral and basically unreasonable creatures known to ponykind. Not even Fluttershy's Stare could cow the wood wolves surrounding them.

By this point, Fluttershy was shielding the Crusaders, doing her best to protect them. Hopefully their screams got someone's attention (like maybe Zecora) and a rescue wouldn't be too far away. The timberwolves were closing in and Fluttershy was seriously doubting that rescue would come in time. The best she could do at this point was protect the girls with her body.

"Close your eyes girls and stay low." She whispered to them. The three very frightened fillies only nodded and did as instructed, closing their eyes and pressing as close to the ground as possible. Fluttershy, who'd been standing over them, pulled them as far underneath her as she could and spread her wings for further protection. While one might say 'you're a pegasus, just fly', flight was just not something Fluttershy was capable of at this time. First of all, this particular part of the forest was too dense for flying and secondly, there's a limit to how much weight a pegasus can carry.

Fluttershy couldn't fly with a full grown mare and her limit for passengers was two fillies and she wasn't about to abandon one filly to such a horrible fate. If Rainbow Dash was here, she definitely would've been able to take three fillies, but she wasn't here. It was just Fluttershy and an entire pack of timberwolves. As they drew closer and closer, Fluttershy's heart thudded in her chest but she stood her ground. She wasn't going to let these fillies get hurt if it cost her her life.

As the pack circled, they drew closer and closer until they were so close that they could smell their breath. Fluttershy let out a whimper and one leaned forward with its mouth open, intention clear. Fluttershy closed her eyes and braced herself for the pain that would come when the bite connected. A pain that never came. Instead she was greeted by the sounds of growls and snarls. Carefully, the pegasus opened her eyes to see what was going on.

The timberwolf that had been about to bite her had turned it's attention from her to the newcomer that now had a grip on its tail. This new creature was bipedel like a minotaur but it definitely wasn't a minotaur. It was smaller than the average minotaur and wore clothes that she'd never seen before. But what was the strangest about this creature was it's face. This particular part of the Everfree was dark so she couldn't see clearly, but what she could see from her vantage point was a white with horns that jutted to the sides and a long mane of white fur.

Fluttershy only had a second to look this creature over however as the timberwolf that it had a hold on jumped and snapped at it. The creature quickly released the wooden tail and lept back out of range. The pack now had its attention on the newcomer but did not move away from the ponies. They remained in a circle around their prey while the wolf that the creature stopped stalked towards it. The creature edged backwards and reached over it's shoulder. Then in one motion it unsheathed a sword and took a stance.

At first nothing happened as the timberwolf stalked it's prey from a distance and the creature held it's sword out in front of itself. The timberwolf made the first move by leaping at the creature who responded by slashing downward on the timberwolf's, reducing it to a pile of logs and sticks. In response, the pack's growls increased and a second timberwolf jumped at the creature, ultimately meeting the same fate as the first.

On the third attack, two timberwolves broke away and jumped towards the creature. One attacked from the front and met the same fate as wolf one and wolf two while the other jumped from behind. Fluttershy almost screamed out a warning but to her surprise she didn't have to. After dispatching the the third timberwolf, the creature dodged it's partner, causing it to stumble before it could get, it dispatched that timberwolf too. By this point the rest of the pack was getting uneasy, but they weren't going down without a fight.

More timberwolves attacked the creature, but they were all as unsuccessful as the first few. One did manage to get on the creature's back, but that on was swiftly delt with. Pretty soon the pack had dwindled dramatically and they were beginning to have second thoughts about this creature. Then a large older timberwolf stepped forward, it's posture and the way the others interacted with it screamed 'Alpha'. With a low rumbling growl, the Alpha stepped forward to the challenge. Instead of jumping forward like it's predecessors, it began to circle the strange creature.

In response, the strange creature tensed, ready for battle but it didn't turn around as the timber wolf circled it. Instead it stood it's ground and slightly tilted it's head towards the wolf. All was quiet as timberwolf and pony alike watched the stand off. Finally the Alpha made it's move in the form of a jump from behind and like before, the creature dodged before the pounce could connect. The Alpha quickly recovered and began stalking the creature again. The Alpha jumped again, this time from the front.

However this time, the creature couldn't dodge and the Alpha managed to knock it down. Fluttershy gasped when the two hit the and all was silent for a beat. Then amazingly, the Alpha fell apart, revealing a sword where the Alpha's chest was before. The creature began to sit up and the other timberwolves, thoroughly spooked, decided to cut their losses and fled. The creature pulled itself up and looked around. Seeing no wolves, it relaxed and sheathed it's blade before turning to the ponies. Now that their lives weren't in danger, Fluttershy was able to make a better examination of the creature.

Fluttershy could see that it's skin was actually pretty pale and it was dressed it a black robe with white fur trim with a blue turtleneck underneath, two necklaces and fingerless gloves with wrappings. As it drew closer, Fluttershy's sense of smell told her that this was a male and now that she was looking at his face more closely, she could see that what she initially thought was his face was actually a white skull mask with a fur piece that covered his head, hair and back.

"So cool." Fluttershy was startled when one of the Crusaders, Scootaloo, whispered in awe and she looked down to see all three fillies staring wide eyed at the creature.

"Girls, how long have you been watching?" She asked.

"Roughly around when the second wolf was beat." Applebloom said. Fluttershy had no answer to that and instead turned back to the strange creature. By this point, he had stopped a few feet away and was staring at the group. Before anything could happen however, the sound of branches breaking and a thud heralded the arrival of a fifth pony.

Rainbow Dash first turned to her friend and the Crusaders and seeing they were unscathed turned to the threat. The pegasus flared her wings threateningly and shot a glare at the creature that from her point of view was a threat to her friends. Before either party could say a word, Rainbow rammed the creature, knocking it down then flew back to take up a defensive position.

"I don't know what the heck you are, but stay away from my friends!" The cyan pegasus snorted. The strange creature stared for a bit then quickly got up and disappeared into the forest. Feeling very satisfied with herself, Rainbow turned back to her damsels in distress.....only to find herself on the receiving end of Fluttershy's disapproving scowl. The cyan pegasus shifted uncomfortably.

"So uh...what'd I miss?"

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".....and that's when Rainbow Dash arrived and scared off this creature." Twilight said, recapping the story her friends had told her. After dropping off the Crusaders at their respective homes, Fluttershy and Dash went around picking up the rest of their friends so they could share what happened. After RD's rescue, Fluttershy refused to speak to her friend about what happened until they were all gather so she wouldn't have to repeat herself.

At Twilight's recap, Fluttershy nodded. "Although technically, Dash attacked the poor thing unprovoked." She said, sending a look at said pegasus.

"How was I supposed to know he saved you!" Rainbow burst out. "Besides, you don't know what he would've done if I hadn't been there. For all you know, he could've eaten you!"

"True, but I doubt he would've done anything." Fluttershy responded.

"How would you know that?" AJ asked curiously.

"I saw a squirrel follow him and jump up onto his shoulder." Fluttershy said simply. "Animals are excellent judges of character and always notice things a pony wouldn't see. And squirrels are especially skittish around other creatures so the fact that a squirrel has bonded with him like that must mean that he's very kind and gentle, maybe even a bit shy."

Fluttershy then shot a glare at Rainbow Dash. "And you attacked him!" She said as 'loudly' as she could. "He'd just saved us and you went and attacked him without a second thought! If you just waited a bit or asked before jumping to conclusions, you would've known that!"

"I agree." Twilight offered her two bits. "While I can see how the situation could be misinterpreted, asking about what was going on would've been a large boon. Even if he wasn't friendly, Fluttershy and the Crusaders could've had important information about the opponent. Charging in without knowing what you were up against could've ended with you getting seriously hurt."

"Okay fine! I messed up!" Rainbow exploded, her ears flat against her head. "I acted before thinking and hurt someone innocent! Happy!? Now can we please move on to something else?"

"Dash's got a point. Ain't no use in bucking a dead tree." AJ stepped. "Right now, we've got other things we need ta figure out."

"Yeah! Like where are we going to find guy?" Pinkie piped up. "I can't throw him a Welcome to Ponyville party if I don't know where the guest of honor is. And that's not counting the Thank You for Saving our Friends and the Sorry Dashie Jumped to Conclusions parties I'll have to throw. Actually, maybe I could combine all three into one big super party!"

"Pinkie Pie's right, in her own Pinkie way." Twilight agreed. "I personally would love to study this new creature."

"And I for one would like to thank this gentleman for saving my sister." Rarity announced and Applejack nodded.

"Yeah, me too." She said simply.

"I want to thank him too." Fluttershy said softly. "And make sure he's okay."

Rainbow sighed. "Yeah and I suppose I should apologize for how I acted. So how do we start?"

"Perhaps I maybe able to help." A new male voice made all the assembled mares jump and spin around towards the door. There standing casually in the entrance was a strange creature just like the one that Fluttershy described only he was taller and looked older. He wore a robe with yellow hemlines and his long green hair was tied back with an orange ribbon. His bangs were styled to cover the right side of his face and as they looked at him in shock, mirth twinkled in his left eye which was purple in color and matched his stud earrings.

As they all gawked at him, the stranger push himself up and approached slowly. "Hello, my name is Jea-ha." He introduced himself with a flourish and Rarity practically swooned. "Now tell me about this strange creature."
> inFAMOUS Dragons part one (edited)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Kija’s POV)
Today was just not my day. First I find myself in a strange forest and much different than I was before. Then while I was freaking out, the universe decides to tell me to shut up by opening a void in from of me and launching a phone at my face. As I was nursing my stinging cheek (that's definitely going to leave a bruise) a second void opened up.


Instantly I went to shield myself and out floated a red and blue feather. Despite the situation, some part of me couldn't help but see the humour in this. Tentatively I reached out and grabbed the feather and instantly I heard a voice in my head.


“I am Delsin Rowe, the Equestrian Eagle. Should you need aid, or someone to talk to or spar with, call me up.”


For a time, I just sat there trying to wrap my head around what the heck was going on. It felt like the entire world had just been turned upside down then thrown out the window. None of this made sense! How did I go from attending a con to being dumped in a forest as Kija?! I needed answers, but I wasn't sure where to get them.


A tickle in my hand reminded me of the feather I was currently holding. Did I dare? Hard to say. On one hand this was all probably a dream or a hallucination yet it didn't feel like I dream. I could feel the grass beneath me and the clothes on my body like they were actually there. They actually felt nice and soft.


Eventually I reached the conclusion that I may as well try. I had nothing to lose and a lot to gain. I needed answers and this Delsin sounded like he had a few. Plus I could really use some aid and someone to talk to.


“Um, I'm not sure how this is supposed to work but I could really use some answers right now.” I spoke as though I was addressing the feather and instantly felt stupid. How was a feather supposed to help me?


Suddenly, another void opened up and a young man tumbled out. He was dressed like some sort of punk and seemed somewhat disoriented. “Ugh, I just needed five more seconds,” he complained to no one in particular. “Is that too much to ask?”


I stood there gaping until the young man noticed me.


“Oh, sorry. Were you the one that summoned me?” He asked me.


“Um...I guess.” I said uneasily.


“You guess?” He said before facepalming. “Great. Just great. Once again, I have to be the one to teach someone about what they're now a part of.”


“What I'm a part of?” I asked. Lost couldn't even begin to describe how I felt at this moment.


“Let me know if I have my facts correct. You were at a convention and bought something for a discount price from a vendor there. Am I correct?”


“Almost.” I said almost absently. “Me and my friends bought something from a vendor at a convention.”


“Okay,” he said before his arms suddenly started smoking. “Welcome to being a Displaced.”


“Displaced?”


“Basically, you now have the power of the person you dressed as at the convention and you are no longer on Earth.” He tossed a ball of condensed smoke around in the air as he spoke.


I took that in for a total of two minutes before responding. “Okay, so if I'm not on Earth then where am I?”


“Unless I’m wrong, you are now in Equestria.”


Equestria. I rolled that name around my head just to make sense of it all. I had of course heard of MLP thanks to one of my co workers who had a near obsession with it and would often talk about it with her friends while on break. Sometimes I'd overhear their discussion but I didn't really know much about the show or fandom. The only things I could say for sure was that it was about magical ponies in the land of Equestria.


“You've got to be kidding me.” I said incredulously.


“I’m not. Every Displaced or group of Displaced gets placed in their own version of Equestria. A close friend of mine is in an anthro version of Equestria. Another few friends has keyblades and things from Kingdom Hearts in his.”


“Great.” I sighed. “So basically the multiverse, right?”


“Correct,” he answered. “Infinite worlds, infinite possibilities. Speaking of what you dressed as, who are you dressed as?”


“Kija from Akatsuki no Yona otherwise known as Hakuryu or The White Dragon and one of the Dragon Warriors.” I answered a little boldly.


“Huh. Sounds like an anime that I haven’t seen,” he said in a combination of curiosity and confusion. “Care to elaborate on your abilities, Kija?”


“Well in the anime slash manga, there are four dragon warriors that gained their powers from the blood of dragons.” I started to explain. “In the birth myth of Kouka, there was this red dragon god that came down to earth earth as a human and ended up in danger so his friends gave their blood to mortals so they could protect them. The white dragon possesses the dragon claw that can tear through anything.”


I then raised my right hand so he could see the claw in question.


“What about the other three dragon warriors?”


“The Ryokuryu or green dragon has the dragon's foot and can fly through the air by jumping.” I said. “Seiryuu, the blue dragon, has eyes that can see long distances and all around him. And if he uses his power he could paralyze everything in sight. Even the heart. The downside to this ability is that it paralyzes the Seiryuu. I'm not sure exactly how it works. And then there's Ouryuu, the yellow dragon. His ability is an immortal body.”


“Wow...so you and three friends got Displaced?”


“Yes. I was dressed as Kija. The others were dressed as one of the other three Dragon Warriors.” I confirmed.


“Okay. Where are they currently? Or did you get separated?”


“It seems we have. I woke up here alone.”


“Okay then. I’ll see about helping you find your friends and I’ll stick around until I banish my doppelganger.”


“I think I might be able to at least narrow it down.” I said. “Another ability the Dragon Warriors have is the ability to sense each other. They generally know where the others are.”


“Sounds a lot more accurate than my radar pulse,” he said. “Lead the way.”


I closed my eyes and concentrated as hard as I could. For a bit, it seemed like nothing was happening. Then slowly, like an image fading in, I got something. It took me a minute to figure out and identify what I was feeling before I finally opened my eyes.


“I can sense the Ryokuryu and the Seiryuu in close proximity to each other.” I said then pointed in the direction I'd sensed them. “That way.”


“Okay, let’s go.” He began to walk in that direction but stopped and turned to me. “If you see or feel anything off, inform me. I’m not sure when or where my doppelganger will attack.”


“Is your doppelganger evil or something like that?” I asked with concern.


“I have an eagle on my back; he has a vulture on his. I aim to do good; he is just...ugh…” He massaged his forehead. “If you see him, just decapitate him.”


I flinched lightly. “Just like that?” I asked.


“He’s resistant to death, so he’ll laugh it off and pull himself together.”


“It sounds like an evil version of Ouryuu.” I commented. “I wasn't kidding when I said the Ouryuu’s power was an immortal body. Not only does he not age, but he can basically take whatever you throw at him, regenerate then come back at you. And when he regenerates, his body becomes hard as steel and he's as strong as the Hakuryu and Ryokuryu. The idea is that the Ouryuu is an eternal shield to protect. In the manga, he generally stays on the sidelines in a battle but he's willing to throw himself in front of an oncoming blade. And he's probably the only Dragon Warrior that can take on an army on his own with just a sword, partially because of his regeneration abilities and partly because his abilities tend to scare the crap out of the survivors.”


My eyes then widened as I remembered another aspect of Zeno. Because the Ouryuu was the only warrior that had an immortal body, he stuck around while the people around him aged and died. The powers of the white, blue and green dragons were passed down through generations, but the yellow dragon was immortal. And in the manga Zeno had a hard time with his power to say the least. It was even said as much that he would have these fits of despair where he'd tear his own body. Jack had been dressed as Zeno which meant that he'd either have to deal with this....or he'd already gone through it.


“You have the general idea of Nisled, but he’s resistant to death. He can be killed, but it would have to take a lot to do so.” He then began walking again.


Shaken from my thoughts I just nodded. As I walked forward, my foot kicked the phone that hit me in the first place. Considering how it had been shot out at me from the void, it was a safe bet that this phone was a token too. Crouching down, I grabbed the token and instantly heard a voice in my head.


“Hello, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki, and I'm a Soul Reaper. If you're a good guy looking for a helping hand, just give me a call and tell me what you need.”


I blinked. “Huh. It seems as though there's a Bleach Displaced out there somewhere.” I said as I pocketed the cell phone.


“There is a lot of different Displaced that are around,” he explained. “And just in case you are wondering, tokens, like my feather and that phone allow you to summon or be summoned.”


“Good to know. Shall we go?”


“Yep, let’s go.” He continued walking. And without another word, the two set off in their chosen direction.

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴


The Mane Six were all doing great impressions of fish out of water. The stranger just stood there confidently as he observed their wide eyed, open mouthed expressions. Pretty soon however, someone was going to need to break the silence and that someone ended up being Rarity.


“Um, hello there strange...creature. My name is Rarity. What's yours?” She tried to push the unsteady tone from her voice and seemed to have succeeded as the creature responded in kind.


“My my, how rude of me to not introduce myself.” He then gave them a sweeping bow with a flourish. “My name is Jea-ha, the beautiful Ryokuryu. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”


“Oh well the pleasure is all ours.” Rarity said, the strange creature’s manners setting her at ease as her friends recovered. The next pony to speak was Rainbow Dash.


“How did you get in here?!” She burst out. “And don't say you knocked, we would've noticed.”


The was a mischievous glint in the male's eye as he answered. “I jumped onto the balcony and let myself in.” He said as though he were sharing some sort of trade secret like a secret ingredient in a special recipe.


“Impossible!” Twilight instantly denied. “The balcony is hundreds of feet high, nothing could possibly jump that high and I don't see any wings.”


Jea-ha just smirked teasingly at the bewildered alicorn. “Believe what you wish, it is the truth.” He said before his face suddenly lost much of it's mirth. “Now I'd like to hear more about this 'strange creature', I got here a little late and didn't hear as much as I'd like. Just enough to know that I need to know more. So spill.”


The girls looked between each other not sure if they should or shouldn't trust this being. However before they could think too much on the subject, Fluttershy stepped forward.


“What would you like to know?” She asked bravely.


Jea-ha smiled gently. “Whatever you can tell me.”


✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴


After Fluttershy explained her story, Jea-ha simply sat quietly with a thoughtful look on his face. Finally, he spoke.


“Shin-ah.” He murmured to himself then looked up at the ponies gathered around him. After Fluttershy explained her encounter, she then asked if Jea-ha was a friend of her savior. Her reasoning behind this conclusion was mostly the fact that they were very similar. While it wasn't a bad assumption given the circumstances, in any other situation such reasons were faulty. In this case however, she was correct.


“Miss Fluttershy, you are correct in assuming that your hero is a friend of mine.” Jea-ha began. “Our group has not only been separated, but we've also found ourselves in an unusual situation in unfamiliar territory.”


'Severely unfamiliar territory.’ Jea-ha added to himself.


Fluttershy cocked her head. “You said group. Does that mean that there are others besides you and the person who helped me?”


“At this current moment there are two others that are unaccounted for.” Jea-ha said. “Hakuryu and Ouryuu are too far from me and can take care of themselves so at this moment I'm a little focused on Seiryuu.”


“Hakuryu, Ouryuu, Seiryuu and Ryokuryu.” Applejack listed off, the obviously Neighponese names sounding strange with her Southern accent. “All those names sound a lot alike. Are y'all siblings or somethin’?”


A smirk tugged at Jea-ha's lips. “In a sense yes, you could say that we are brothers in all but blood and even then there's a blood bond. So yes, we are brothers. Bonded by blood and brotherly love.”


“That sounded a little sappy.” Dash commented with a frown.


“Perhaps.” Jea-ha answered with a dismissive shrug before standing from his seat. “And speaking of brothers, I should get going.”


“Wait what?!” Twilight exclaimed, looking up from the notes she'd been taking. “Where are you going?”


“To find my brother.” Jea-ha answered with a nonchalant wave as he exited the room. “See ya!”


“Hey wait a minute!” Twilight called as she jumped up and followed after Jea-ha, her friends hot on her heels. “You can't just waltz in just like that then leave! I still have so many questions, like what are you?”


“I'm the Ryokuryu.” Jea-ha answered with a cheeky grin and Twilight huffed in frustration.


“What does that even mean?” The alicorn demanded. “It sounds Neighponese, but I'm not as fluent in the language to translate.”


“Neighponese eh?” Jea-ha said with an amused chuckle. “Well you're not wrong. It means dragon. Specifically green dragon.” As he spoke, a wide grin spread across his face, displaying large canines that made the ponies flinch back instinctively.


Twilight almost immediately went into scientist mode, producing a scroll and quill to make notes. “So you're a green dragon or Ryokuryu.”


“Not a Ryokuryu.” Jea-ha broke in with a finger waggle. “The Ryokuryu. There is only one person with the power of Ryokuryu and that is me.”


“Power of Ryokuryu?” Twilight asked in interest, her friends equally interested.


“The power of the green dragon.” Jea-ha clarified.


“Does that mean you can breath fire?” Rainbow asked and Jea-ha laughed.


“Nope! No fire here!” He said cheerfully. “I can just fly across the sky.”


“What about your brothers?” Pinkie piped up. “You know, Hakuryu, Seiryuu and Ouryuu. Are they dragons like you too?”


“They are.” Jea-ha confirmed with a nod. “Hakuryu is the white dragon, Seiryuu the blue dragon and Ouryuu is the yellow dragon.”


“And are they like you?” Twilight immediately jumped in with an almost hungry expression and quill at the ready.


“No, they have their own strengths and talents. But that'sthat's for them to tell not me.” By this point they'd reached the balcony doors which were wide open, not closed like Twilight expected. Jea-ha casually strolled out onto the balcony then turned back towards the assembled ponies.


“Well, see you around.” He said with a grin then then crouched down and lept. The ponies once again gaped as they saw how high he flew into the air.


“Land sakes! He wasn't kidding when he said he jumped.” Applejack exclaimed.


Twilight didn't respond immediately, she just stood there and watched as the dot that was Jea-ha descended in the direction of the Everfree forest. She then whirled around to face Rainbow Dash. Her horn blazed and a light surrounded the prismatic pegasus, sending a slight tingly sensation through her body before both the light and the sensation dissipated.


“Hey! What was that?” Rainbow demanded.


“A tracking spell.” Twilight answered. “And a pretty powerful one too. Usually used on prisoners so the authorities can track them if they escape. So long as you have that spell, I'll be able to track you.”


“Okay, so why did you put a tracking spell on me?”


“Because you're the only one of us that can keep up with Jea-ha.” Twilight said still cursing herself for not thinking of this earlier. “You go follow him and we'll try to catch up.”


The cyan pegasus saluted. “Aye aye captain.” She said then launched herself into the air and taking off in the direction Jea-ha went. Twilight nodded in satisfaction then turned to her remaining friends.


“Alright then girls, let's get going!” They didn't need anymore encouragement, within fifteen they were all out in the streets and galloping towards the Everfree forest.

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

Shin-ah stumbled through the forest on slightly unsteady feet. Nothing had made a lick of sense since he ended up here. Wherever 'here’ was anyways. First he'd woken in this strange forest to find himself much different than he was before. After coming to terms with his new identity, Shin-ah then went looking for any sign of civilization or even the end of this forest.


Then he heard the screams of young children and when he went to investigate, he almost didn't believe what he was seeing. Ponies surrounded by wolves made of sticks and twigs. Before he could think any further on what he was seeing, he stepped in. It hadn't been easy fighting those wolves. Sure he knew some sword skills from the classes he'd been taking, but he'd hardly call himself a master.


On the bright side, at least the wolves were easily destroyed, Shin-ah guessed that they were only a threat in large enough numbers. Even so, a few managed to get him and at the end when he fought the Alpha, the older wolf managed to bite his shoulder. And then he was headbutt in the the stomach by a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane. Hence his current state.


Shin-ah paused his trek to lean heavily on a tree as he held his stomach, trying to keep his lunch down. Deciding that now was as good a time to rest, he slumped down so he was sitting leaning against the tree. As he rested, the young man's thoughts drifted back to his situation and he touched the mask on his face.


It had no eyes holes, yet he could see through it perfectly as though there were eyeholes. He had the power of the dragon’s eyes which meant a lot of things to him. The dragon's eyes could not only see far distances but they could also make people experience deadly hallucinations. In the manga, it was a power that was feared by an entire village to the point where Shin-ah's mother committed suicide after giving birth to him because of despair. And quite frankly, he didn't blame them for fearing it.


The Shin-ah in the manga didn't have control over the power, instead relying on sword skills to fight. The current Shin-ah doubted that he had control over his power either and the fact that he could end up hurting so many people, or ponies as the case may be, terrified him.


'Perhaps it would be best if I didn't leave the forest,’ He thought.


“Pukyuu!” A cry pulled him from his dark thoughts and he blinked as a squirrel ran up to him with his cheek pouches filled with nuts. Shin-ah smiled as the little squirrel ran up his arm then tried to stuff nuts into his mouth. It was amusing and while that wasn't the intent, it still helped Shin-ah out of his funk.


“Thank you Ao.” He said softly as he lifted the little one up. At least he still had company here. A twig snapped and Shin-ah tensed looking around for who or what was coming. With the ability of the dragon's eyes, it didn't take long to spot what was coming.


A punk with arms that had what looked like chunks of rock swirling around them.


And he was heading straight for him.


As quickly as he could, Shin-ah dodged out of the way. And just in time for a large, yellow glowing rock to go sailing by.

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

*BOOM*


Jea-ha almost tumbled in mid air when the explosion suddenly sounded. Only the timely arrival of a certain pegasus kept him from taking a nasty fall.


“What in the name of Celestia was that!?” Dash exclaimed as she lowered him to a rooftop not wanting to risk seeing if he couldn't touch clouds. Jea-ha didn't answer, but his eyes did narrow. That explosion came from the Everfree forest. Where Shin-ah was. Without a single word he lept again, urgency in his flight.


“Hey, wait up!” Rainbow called as she tried to keep up but her cries were ignored.

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

*BOOM*


Kija's head shot up at the sudden explosion. “What was that?” He asked.


I looked in the direction of the explosion and focused my radar pulse to see what was in that direction. From the bioelectric signatures, I could sense two presences. One was shaded blue, while the other was blood red. “CRAP! He's here!” I then took off running in that direction.


Kija was confused at first but he wasn't slow. As soon as he saw that his companion was running, he took off after him and tried to put the pieces together.


“Who's here?” He asked once he caught up and was running side by side with the other Displaced. “Is it that doppelganger you told me about?” Kija asked with no small amount of concern.


“I hope and pray that it isn't,” I answered as I crashed through some bushes. I came to a stop in a small clearing, where a figure in a mask was hunched over, his clothing turning crimson from his gut. Standing over him with a cocky smirk was Nisled.


I'm not exactly sure what happened exactly, it all went so fast. A look of rage crossed Kija’s face and his dragon claw swelled in size. Next thing I knew, Nisled had been thrown across the clearing and Kija was standing protectively over the masked figure.


“Stay away from my brother.” He hissed angrily at Nisled.


I smoke dashed to the two and carefully lowered the masked figure to his back on the ground. “Kija, have fun ripping him to shreds. I'll keep your brother stable.”


“Very well. I leave him in your hands.” Kija said then turned back to Nisled. “I'm new to all this. Fighting least of all, but I will tear you apart for what you've done to my brother.”


“Mind if I join in.” An unexpected voice called and the next thing I knew, a flamboyant green haired man descended. He simply glanced around the clearing, quickly assessing the situation then turned to Kija.


“If I recall correctly, I know a bit more about fighting than you do.” He said with a smirk. “Karate, judo and self defense classes have to count for something don't they?”


“Ryokuryu.” Kija responded, not taking his eyes off the enemy.


“You don't have to be so formal.” The man said. “But we can exchange pleasantries later. I doubt our 'guest’ will wait.”


“His name is Nisled and according to Deslin here, he's resistant to death similar to the Ouryuu.” Kija said shortly as he braced himself for an attack.


“Interesting. This should be fun.”


I turned my attention away from the two angry dragons and looked to the one bleeding to death with a squirrel trying to feed him nuts. I focused my smoke to work on healing him and removing the concrete shrapnel from his gut. A gasp erupted from the masked person on the ground, indicating that he was now awake.


“Dude, you okay?” I asked him. The man just nodded. “Okay, good. Stay there, I'll be right back. I turned my attention to the fight between Nisled and the two dragons and saw that Nisled was barely holding his own against the two of them. He had activated his video powers and seemed to focus on redirecting attacks with his claw constructs rather than outright blocking.


I reached out and absorbed Kija's anger in the form of shadow. I then activated my dark suit and summoned Karmic Gear. I then charged in and tackled Nisled and tossed him into a tree. He swiped at me but I parried and slashed an ‘X’ on his chest. He staggered, giving me the opportunity to kick him down. I then removed my helmet and sunk my fangs into his neck.


Kija and Ryokuryu staggered back as well. Clearly this had been their first fight though the Ryokuryu seemed to be faring better than Kija. I pulled myself off of Nisled, dismissed the suit and keyblade and pulled out the Banishing Key. It and Nisled glowed a red color before a red beam hit him, causing him to sink into the ground as if it was quicksand.


With the banishment done, I then turned back to the others. Kija had moved to the side of the masked man looking over him while the one I knew as Ryokuryu gave me an impressed look.


“Well, that was over fairly quickly.” He said then stuck out a hand to me. “I'm Jea-ha, the beautiful Ryokuryu.”


I did a quick ray sphere pulse to check his DNA and found it clean. I took the offered hand and shook it. “Delsin Rowe, the Equestrian Eagle,” I introduced myself.


“Good to meet you Delsin.” Jea-ha said before pulling his hand away. “So, evil twin?”


“Doppelganger,” I corrected. “An alternate version of myself that is pure evil.”


“Really? How does that even work?” He asked.


“We are part of the Multiverse. There are practically infinite possibilities. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a Mr. Mxyzptlk that replaces Discord.”


“Huh. Multiverse eh?” Jea-ha hummed thoughtfully. “That explains a lot. So does that mean you're from a different universe?”


“Yep. The Mane Six there are conduits and Akomish like me, but they have different powers.”


“Do they have vampiric abilities too?” Jea-ha asked then pointed to his face as though indicating that I had something on my face. 


I moved my hand to the spot indicated and felt a bit of blood. “Crap! No, I just had an issue with a vampire a little bit ago,” I answered as I pulled out a crimson handkerchief and started to clean my face.


As if on cue, Rainbow Dash dropped into the clearing panting like she'd just run a marathon without a break.


“Jeez, for a guy that flies by jumping, you're hard to keep up with,” She gasped once she caught her breath. At this point she noticed the scene that she'd dropped in and the number of other beings alongside evidence of a fight.


“Um, did I miss something?” She asked.


I shook my head and chuckled lightly as I finished wiping the blood off of my face. “For somepony who's fast, you are a bit slow.”


Instantly, Rainbow Dash tensed. “Excuse me?!” She demanded angrily. “I'm the fastest pony in Equestria, I've saved Equestria a dozen times at least and I'm the only one who's ever been able to perform a Sonic Rainboom! A Sonic Rainboom!! Can you say as much?” She finished her bragging with a confident smirk and shot me a challenging look.


“I've fought in a war; took concrete shrapnel and crossbow bolts to the chest and gut and survived; I'm an uncle to a Pokémon; I'm part vampire; and I was poking fun at your IQ and situational awareness, not your speed,” I countered in almost one breath.


Rainbow's eyes narrowed but before she could retort, the rest of the Mane Six burst from the undergrowth and entered the clearing. They had to take a breather before surveying the scene around them. As expected, Fluttershy was immediately at Kija and his brother's side surveying the damage and soothing the wounded man which reminded me, I had a patient to take care of.


I turned to Rainbow and said, “Could you do me a favor and get a thundercloud and electrocute me?”


Rainbow and Twilight gave me a strange look then the pegasus grinned and took off. She returned quickly with the cloud and gave me a smirk that suggested she was going to have a little too much fun doing this.


She gave the cloud a good buck, causing lightning to strike me. I absorbed the electricity, and approached the still wounded man. “Stand back,” I told Jea-ha and Kija. They backed up and I charged my hands with electricity. I then sent a small pulse of electricity into the man's chest, speeding up his healing and causing him to jump a bit.


“Shin-ah, you're okay!” Kija gleefully said as he went in for a hug. I stopped him short.


“I may have healed him, but I would recommend professional medical care,” I told him. “Most of what I did was sealing up the wounds, but there could be some damage on the inside that I can't heal.”


“Well then let's get back ta town before the timberwolves pick up on the scent of blood.” Applejack announced. “I'll get ta work on a sled fer him.”


I could see that Twilight had a thousand questions for me, but I agreed. The Everfree isn't exactly a safe place to be especially if you're injured. With surprising speed, Applejack fashioned a sled from some strong branches and rope (something the farmpony apparently always carried with her) and hitched herself to it. Kija and Jea-ha with the help of Fluttershy, helped Shin-ah onto the sled and then we were off. Twilight walked beside, shooting me a look that suggested that she was in science mode and I could expect a million questions.


Once we had gotten into Ponyville and got Shin-ah to the hospital, I thought that I could take a few minutes to rest, but...that was when Twilight pounced.


“Okay, first things first, name, age, gender and species.” At that last part, her voice took on a hungry tone.


I answered her questions in a similar rapid-fire manner. “Delsin Rowe, a little over a thousand years, male, and I'm a human conduit/vampire.”


Twilight was already writing down my answers. “Human huh? So is that what Jea-ha and his brothers are as well?”


“I believe that they are human, or mostly human. And they're not conduits.”


“Okay. So what's a conduit and what's the difference between a conduit and a human?” She asked next.


“A conduit is someone, something, or somepony that has a unique gene that allows them control over a form of matter or energy.” I held up my hand and let some electricity flow around it.


“Fascinating. And are there other conduits?”


I sent out a brief ray sphere pulse and couldn't see anyone with the gene. “As far as I can tell, not here or at least in this hospital. There are conduits in other worlds that I've met.”


Twilight looked like she was going to have an aneurysm. “Other worlds?!?!” She almost shouted in my face.


“Ever heard of the Multiverse?” I asked her. Twilight nodded.


“Starswirl the Bearded wrote several papers on the theory of infinite worlds with equally infinite possibilities.” She said. “And he wasn't the only one, there are hundreds of scholars who've written on the theory of the multiverse and it's even become a popular subject of fiction.”


“Well, that fiction is now, more than likely, fact and I can at least say that you have things better than two other versions of you have things.”


Twilight squealed. “Other versions of me!?” She cried in delight. “Of course there are other versions. Infinite possibilities and all that. So does that mean that you are from another world?” 


“Yes, one where you and your friends are conduits and Akomish.”


Twilight looked about ready to faint and at that point Pinkie Pie entered my line of sight. “Oh oh, what about me? Does that mean that there's lots of me all over the multiverse?” She asked.


“Not entirely,” I informed her. “In one world, she’s dead.”


Pinkie instantly deflated, hair and all. “Dead? Me? How?” She whimpered.


“Long version or short version?”


“Short.” She answered. “I'll hear the long one later.”


“Brutally murdered by my Doppelganger,” I summed up.


Pinkie Pie whimpered. “I don't think I want to hear the long version anymore. Just tell me this, did it mean something?” She asked. “Did she go down helping her friends or did she at least go out with a bang?”


“After she helped save Equestria, she was exhausted and was struck down at her weakest. As were most of the rest of the Bearers.” I then growled, clenching my fists and causing red electricity to spark from my hands. “The only one who survived was Twilight’s alternate. But she didn't get away unscathed. She's practically a cyborg now and refuses to be known by her old name.”


There was silence as they all took that in. Then Twilight decided that a change in subject was in order.


“Sooo, Delsin you mentioned that you were also a vampire. Care to elaborate?” She asked almost hurriedly.


“A vampire in Trottingham around Nightmare Night, named Bloody Marey, bit me after my blood was used to resurrect her. I managed to end her, but I was a few seconds too late. After the Elements of Harmony were used on me to try to heal me, I became different from most vampires.”


Twilight immediately began taking notes. “Interesting. Exactly how different are you?”


“Unlike most of them, I can stand in the sun and not burn up. It's irritating to my blood and skin, but I can survive that. I can also resist my lust for blood.” I then licked my lips when I looked at Twilight’s neck. I shook my head and added, “Mostly.” I pulled out a small canteen from my pocket and took a small drink. (Go, have her ask about the canteen)


“What's in the canteen?” Twilight asked curiously as she took down more notes.


“A mixture of apple juice and manticore blood.”


A number of the ponies looked disgusted or ill. Surprisingly, Fluttershy was not one of them. I expected her to be more upset about the manticore blood part considering her love of animals.


“Any further questions, comments, or concerns?” I asked.


Twilight looked like she was going to ask more questions, but she was cut off by Rainbow Dash. 


“I've got a question.” The pegasus piped up. “If you're from another dimension then how did you get here?”


“Well, Kija, the white dragon, found my token and summoned me.”


“Token?” Twilight asked with a head cock.


I pulled out a red and blue feather to show her. “Basically, among those sent to different parts of the Multiverse, they can take certain items and infuse enough of their power into them to be used as a means to summon or be summoned.”


“That reminds me, now that you've banished you're doppelganger, what are you going to do now?” Kija asked.


“I'll stay here until you find your yellow brother…” I paused and laughed at myself. “That sounded too much as if I called your brother a coward.”


“I doubt Zeno is a coward.” Kija said drily then closed his eyes to try and focus on the yellow dragon. Eventually he opened his eyes.


“I was referring to the Yellow Lanterns from the DC universe,” I told him before fully realizing that the subject was dropped. “You find him?”


“The presence of the Ouryuu is in that direction.” He pointed, his arm raised a little as though he was pointing up. I looked out the window in the direction he was pointing. He was pointing to Canterlot.


“Twilight?” I asked, “How much will it cost to get to Canterlot and get an audience with the Princesses?”


✴✴✴✴✴✴✴


In Princess Luna's private chambers, the Lunar monarch sighed in contentment and relaxed into the lap of the being stroking her mane. It always soothed and relaxed her for as long as she could remember. These days it was a rare occurrence as the being in question traveled far and wide, but when he was in Canterlot, she took full advantage of that and would frequently ask for this.


Unfortunately the glorious bliss ended when the being stood from his spot and moved towards the window. Initially a little miffed, Luna paused once she noticed how fidgety he was.


“Zeno, is something wrong?” She asked with concern and he shook his head.


“Not at all. Zeno's just very excited.” He said cheerfully.


“Why?”


“Because it looks like Zeno’s brothers are finally here.” Was his answer.

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

(Kija POV)


In the end, we decided to go in a small group. Jea-ha, Delsin and I would take the train to Canterlot with Twilight and Rarity. Applejack had work on the farm, Rainbow Dash had weather duties, Pinkie returned to Sugarcube Corner to bake away her sadness and Fluttershy volunteered to stay with Shin-ah. With that settled, we bought our tickets and boarded the train to Canterlot. My stomach was a flurry of mixed emotions.


Two in particular were at the forefront. Excitement to see Zeno and apprehension on the rulers of this land. I knew little to nothing about the rulers of the court that we were visiting and I couldn't help but wonder what they were like. So I turned to my closest source of information, Delsin, for answers.


“So, what are the princesses like?” I asked.


“It varies from world to world,” he answered. “Like, I'm engaged to be married to my Celestia."


Twilight did a spit take (we'd ordered some snacks and drinks from the trolley when it came through).


“What?!” She screamed and Delsin laughed. 


“No matter how many times I see a reaction like that, it's still funny.” He paused his laughter briefly before it started back up again. “Now that I think about it, it's ironic. A creature that hates being in the sun is marrying the Princess of the Sun.”


“And what about my Celestia and Luna?” I jumped in before Twilight could react further. “Certain traits are universal, right? So in general, what are they like?”


“Celestia tends to have a mischievous side and a cake addiction. Luna is a bit of prankster as well, but she is rather more violently inclined.”


“How violently inclined?”


“Well...in my world, Luna had a split personality problem, so when the Elements were used on her, the other personality split into another alicorn. Said alicorn pranked Luna and Luna then chased her through the castle, ramming just about everyone in the warpath.”


I considered this for a bit. “I'm not sure whether or not I'm nervous anymore.” I confessed.


“I just need to make sure I'm not thinking of Tia when talking to her.”


“I'm not sure I follow and I'm more or less sure that I don't want to know.” Thus I declared the matter closed.


Delsin looked back to Twilight, who still had a shocked look on her face. “So, any other questions?”


“I have one.” Jea-ha piped up with a raised hand. “What is Canterlot like? What sort of things can we expect when we get there?”


Rarity instantly jumped at that. “Canterlot is the capital of Equestria and is a hub of culture and sophistication. I've always wanted to live there, ever since I was just a filly.”


“Your alternate hated it after three gang attacks on her in one hour when she first arrived there,” Delsin stated.


A nervous look past her face before she relaxed. “Well perhaps it isn't a perfect place. I am very well aware of the darker side of Canterlot, not to mention the nobles aren't exactly the best of the best as far as I'm concerned. But you come from an alternate world do you not? Who's to say that every Canterlot is exactly the same?”


Despite what she said, she still edged closer to Jea-ha and I could tell that she was going to be sticking close for the duration of our stay.


“So basically we should stay on guard?” Jea-ha asked.


“That's one way to look at what I said,” Delsin commented. “The point I was trying to make was that looks can be deceiving. Canterlot may look and sound glorious, but the ponies can be stuck up or corrupt in one way or another.”


“I'll keep that in mind.” I said and conversation lapsed into silence for the rest of the train ride.

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

The hospital room was quiet as neither being spoke. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence as either party was comfortable in the silence. But as the time passed, Fluttershy found herself wanting to say something more and more. Slowly, she turned to the being lying on the bed.


Due to how tall he was in comparison to a pony, he wasn't in a standard pony sized hospital bed. Instead he lay on a bed sized for a minotaur and even then it was clearly much too big for the young being and made Shin-ah look weaker than he actually was. His clothes and mask had been removed long ago but because he was so reluctant to part with his mask the doctors compromised by giving him a blindfold.


As a result, Fluttershy couldn't tell if Shin-ah was awake or asleep. After fidgeting for a minute, she finally decided to just get it over with.


“Um, I just wanted to thank you for saving me and the Crusaders.” She said quietly. There was a moment of silence and just when she began to think he was asleep, he spoke.


“It's okay.” He said, his voice soft, quiet and young. Fluttershy looked up to see Shin-ah turned towards her and she could feel his eyes looking over her like they were scanning her.


“Why do you wear that blindfold or the mask?” She asked without thinking. “Can't you see?”


There was silence for a beat before he answered. “I can see.”


Emboldened by the answer, she asked her next question. “Then why do you wear them?”


The silence dragged on longer and just as Fluttershy was beginning to feel like she'd said something wrong, he answered.


“Because I'm dangerous.” His voice much softer than before.


“How?”


Shin-ah gently touched his blindfold. “My eyes can hurt and kill ponies.” He answered. “I don't have control over them and I could end up killing people I care about.”


Fluttershy glanced to the side at a small reddish brown ball curled up at Shin-ah’s side. “What's her name?” She asked and Shin-ah looked surprised at the sudden change in subject.


“Ao.” He answered eventually.


“Ao.” Fluttershy repeated, rolling the strange name around her tongue. “It's quite an unusual name. I don't think I've ever heard it before.” Shin-ah didn't respond, but Fluttershy continued. “Listen Shin-ah, I live around animals regularly and I can communicate with them. It's my special talent. And one thing I've learned over the years is that animals are excellent judges of character. If you were truely dangerous, then I doubt you'd have such a kind and devoted companion.”


Shin-ah didn't say anything, but he stiffened ever so slightly so Fluttershy pressed on. “And as for not being able to control your power, I'm sure you can learn.” She said softly as she held his hand. “Twilight wasn't born a master of magic, she trained and studied until eventually she became the Princess that she is today. I'm sure that you can learn how to control your power.”


There were several beats of silence before she received and answer. “What if I can't?” He asked as he held her hoof. Fluttershy could feel the minute trembles from his hands and knew that he was afraid. She slowly removed her hoof from his hand and pulled him into a gentle embrace, careful not to cause him pain.


“I'll help you.” She whispered. “We'll all help you. And I won't let that happen to you.”


Shin-ah hesitated then relaxed into her grasp. For a moment there was quiet until Fluttershy broke the silence.


“Shin-ah, would you let me see your eyes?”


Shin-ah jerked back then winced when a jolt of pain shot through his body at the sudden motion. Fluttershy gently took his head in her hooves.


“Shin-ah, you aren't dangerous.” She said firmly. “And neither are your eyes. I promise, I'll be fine.” Shin-ah still hesitated. “If it helps, you can just look down at the blankets and it'll only be for a moment. I trust you.”


Shin-ah didn't respond verbally, but he did bow his head and after a moment Fluttershy decided to take it as his nod of ascent. She grasped both side of the blindfold gently and slowly lifted so as not to spook him. When it was removed completely, he tensed dramatically as Fluttershy gasped softly.


“Shin-ah, your eyes are beautiful.”

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

The train pulled into the station at Canterlot and we all disembarked. As we did, for some reason, I felt as though something would go wrong, but I dismissed those thoughts. I was helping some new Displaced get settled into their new home.


“Kija, Jea-ha, can you feel where the Ouryuu is?” Twilight asked. Kija closed his eyes to focus then opened them again and pointed in a direction. Towards Canterlot castle.


I scaled a building and then drained a chimney of its smoke. “Let’s not waste time then,” I said as I dropped back down. “Let’s get going.”

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

Unbeknownst to them however, dark shadows were plotting and would soon make their move.

> inFAMOUS Dragons part two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had started out as pain so intense that I passed out. When I woke up, I found myself falling through a dark tunnel. Cue screaming and flailing as I attempted to halt my descent. Yet no matter where I reached, I couldn't find anything to grab. Panic began to seep in as it looked like I was going to be falling forever.


Suddenly a light shone from below me which could only mean one thing. I was nearing the end of this tunnel. I braced myself for landing and found myself dropped onto a bed. It was a very soft bed, quite luxurious actually and I took a moment to just lay there and gather myself, trying to put together the pieces and figure out what happened.


Eventually, I decided to lift my head and froze at my audience. Of the three beings before me, only one was human. The other two however were horses. The tallest was white with a long flowing rainbow colored mane but even more shocking was the presence of wings and a horn like some sort of winged unicorn.


The other had wings and a horn as well but she was dark blue with a flowing mane that resembled the night sky. I'm not sure how long I sat there frozen, but the third person, a human with blue eyes and messy blonde hair, bouncing forward snapped me out of my stupor. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he looked a lot like Zeno from Akatsuki no Yona.


“Hey there!” He greeted cheerfully. “I'm Zeno!”


............cue fainting.

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

(Delsin’s POV)


Ponies stared at us as we made our way down the street. Some took one look at us then turned their noses up. Those must've been the nobles or something like that. Of course we ignored them all and continued on our way.


“I feel like those nobles are gonna be trouble later,” I say out of randomness.


“Just ignore them.” Twilight said. “I've lived here my entire life and they always act like that. Especially to foreign creatures.”


“Doesn’t mean that they won’t be trouble,” I countered. I did a brief radar pulse to check the area and I sensed… “Dusk, when will you learn to not hide?”


The cybernetic alicorn stepped out of an alley in our path. “When I learn to hide my bioelectric signature,” she answered.


Twilight eyes bulged and her jaw dropped. She'd only needed one second to recognize the alicorn.


“Is that me?” She whispered.


“I heard that!” Dusk snapped, her robotic wings opening and her horn and griffin-clawed forelegs sparked with electricity. “And no, I’m not you, I’m me!”


Twilight flinched back. “I um...” She stuttered.


“You’re lucky I’m just checking up on Delsin, otherwise you would have gotten to know the taste of a few thousand volts of electricity.”


“Whoa whoa whoa, there's no need to get testy.” Jea-ha jumped in, placing himself between the two individuals. “She didn't mean any harm in it so there's no reason to attack her.”


“Though if you did, I will stop you.” Kija added, holding out his dragon claw. “I don't know Twilight very well yet, but I won't have you attacking her.”


“I’m just trying to get it through her &%$#@#&...” I stopped her ranting with a smoke shot to her face. I then rushed forward and disconnected her cybernetic arms from their bases and absorbed the electricity from them.


“Will you just GET OVER IT!?” I shouted at her. I then spoke more quietly, “Tell Tia that you need to ingest some soap. Okay?” She nodded and static teleported herself and her disembodied limbs to the end of the alley, where she opened a portal and vanished.


Rarity blinked. “Well that was certainly random.” She said. “I thought for sure she was going to stick around until you left.”


“I barely see her anyway unless either her or I need to. I look too much like…” I paused, not wanting to remind the group of the deaths of most of the Mane Six in an alternate universe.


“I have a question,” Kija spoke up in the ensuing silence. “What about your Twilight? We get that that's the Twilight from Nisled's version of Equestria, but what about your’s?”


“Just like Twilight here,” I said, gesturing to her. “Just take away the wings, and a few years, then add electricity.”


A look of relief followed by curiosity crossed the alicorn's face. “Interesting.” She murmured to herself. Rarity rolled her eyes then nudged her friend.


“Yes yes, I'm sure it's all very interesting but don’t we have somewhere to be?” The unicorn prompted.


“Ah yes, Ouryuu right?” Twilight gasped and glanced at Kija to make sure she got it right. The Hakuryu nodded.


“Yes, though technically Ouryuu is his title not his name.”


“It's not, then what is his name?” Rarity asked.


“His name is Zeno.” Jea-ha answered.

✴✴✴✴✴✴

(Kija POV)


From a distance, the castle was amazing. Up close it was awe inspiring and I couldn't help but gape at the grandeur of it all.


“If you keep you're mouth open like that, you're going to catch flies.” Jea-ha teased. I snapped my jaw shut and shuddered. Another trait Kija and I shared, our intense dislike of bugs and other insects.


“That’d be a sight to see,” Delsin joked.


“No it would not!” I burst out. “Bugs are slimy, creepy and disgusting.” I shuddered again at the thought of flies in my mouth.


“Oh no, there's a bug on your back!” Jea-ha said as a sensation of something small traveled up my back. Needless to say, I flipped out trying to get the insect off of me. When I heard laughter behind me, I put two and two together and frowned.


“That wasn't funny.” I grumbled.


“Wait until you meet a friend’s Screwball,” Delsin said. “She has a Bug-type Pokemon, a Burmy if I recall correctly.”


I paled and let out a small whimper at the thought. Sure I was okay-ish with bug Pokémon, in a game. But in real life, the thought of it almost made me faint. I don't know how long I stood there unresponsive before a snap from Jea-ha brought me back to reality.


“I think you hate bugs more than me.”


I shuddered once again. “I've never really like bugs to begin with.” I sighed. “Matter of fact, it was more along the lines of a phobia though not exactly. Now I think it maybe worse, I don't usually shudder when... invertebrates are mentioned.”


“Maybe that's because you're Kija now.” Jea-ha mused. “Remember he had a strong dislike for bugs too so maybe your fears have been doubled. Hey Delsin, is it possible for a Displaced to pick up personality traits of the character they dressed as?”


“In some cases, yes, but there are exceptions,” he explained. “I met two Displaced that were dressed as Sora and Vanitas, but their personalities are WAY different than the real deal. Sora can get extremely enraged while Vanitas isn’t a bad guy.”


“Huh interesting. So I guess that's a yes.” Jea-ha said cheerfully and I shot a glare at him.


“I'm not sure how you can see that this is a good thing.” I grumbled. It's not fun to have a phobia. Especially when it's a phobia of something common.


“Oh cheer up Kija, maybe it'll get better.” Jea-ha said as he patted me on the shoulder. “Maybe not go away, but it could decrease in intensity. And remember Kija's fear of insects wasn't his only personality trait.”


“What traits are those?” Delsin asked.


“Kija has a very headstrong, straightforward and polite personality.” Jea-ha said. “There is some naivety because of how he was raised and he has pride in his role as Hakuryu. He can also be competitive because he works very hard to impress and can become flustered and a little jealous when others outshine him but never to an unhealthy degree from what I've seen and because of his want to be helpful, he's very loyal and willing to fight and take orders without hesitation. He also likes being praised and can become shy and withdrawn when he is. You know, blushing and all that.”


“That sounds...complicated.”


Jea-ha shrugged. “Maybe a little, but I think it makes him cute.” Jea-ha said.


“And what about your own character?” I huffed in annoyance.


“I'll admit I'm a little curious about that as well.” Rarity chipped in.


“Me too.” Twilight piped up. “Think it would be very useful for us to know what to expect from you.”


“I am the beautiful Ryokuryu, capable of soaring through the air and capturing your hearts.” Jea-ha answered, somehow making himself look anime sparkly. I rolled my eyes.


“Jea-ha is a vain, confident, persistent, observant man who takes pride in his looks and enjoys the beautiful things in life. He often chases after something he believes to be beautiful and outwardly display his masochistic nature.” I stated bluntly, causing him to freeze. “He places a lot of value on freedom and as a lover of beauty, tends to pursue women. He's got a playboy attitude and has a tendency to flirt with every single female he interacts. In such relationships, he dislikes being chased, preferring to be the chaser but it has been said that his ideal type of woman is a strong-headed woman who is not scared of anything. And he often uses his observations to tease the other members of the group.”


The two mares were silent. “I...see.” Twilight said slowly then turned to Delsin. “And what about you?”


“Delsin...not me, but the original...has two differing personalities,” he told them. “He can either be a selfless, merciful person with a bit of a rebellious streak, or a selfish, reckless person that just doesn’t care.”


Jea-ha hummed in thought. “Is that why Nisled's name is basically your name spelled backwards?”


“Yep, that’s why.”


Twilight jotted down a few notes. Then turned back to Delsin. “And how well does your personality line up with the Delsin Rowe character?”


Before Delsin could answer however, Rarity jumped in. “Um Twilight darling, not to say that this isn't a fascinating subject, don't you think it would be better to have this conversation somewhere else besides the princesses doorstep?”


Twilight blinked, looked around then blushed. “Oh, right. Should probably shelve this for later.” She said as she trotted up to the door. The guards gave her a once over then turned their gaze up to the others then nodded.


“We've been expecting you.” He said and Twilight looked at him in confusion.


“Expecting us? How? I wasn't able to send a letter ahead of time, how could she have known we were coming?” She exclaimed which was true, when we figured out that we had to come to Canterlot, the next train was leaving in a few minutes and Spike was still at the castle. Basically, we had to run to purchase our tickets and catch the train.


“All I know is what we were told, that we would be getting some strange visitors that looked like that,” at this point, he pointed to Delsin, Jea-ha and myself, “and that we were to let them in.”


Everyone blinked silently. Then Delsin decided to break the silence. “I’m going to hazard a guess that Zeno is behind the fact that we were expected.”


Jea-ha and I nodded. “I think that's a safe bet myself.” I said.

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

(Zeno POV)


I was practically bouncing on the heels of my feet as the presences of Hakuryu and Ryokuryu drew closer and closer. I was a little sad when Seiryuu’s presence stayed in Ponyville, but he must've had a reason for staying. While it meant that our reunion wouldn't be complete, I decided that I wasn't going to let it get me down. It had been far too long since I'd seen the other dragons and I wasn't going to let it ruin our reunion.


Besides, Yoon was here too! The young boy was still passed out in Tia's bedroom, but still we had Yoon! I'd briefly wondered if Yona or Hak would show up, but I decided against it. Didn't really make sense given their roles in the anime and manga. But moving on, Hakuryu and Ryokuryu had arrived and the moment the door had been opened, I rushed forward and threw myself at the first presence I could. Which turned out to be Hakuryu.


“Hakuryu!” I cried as I threw myself into his arms. Kija stumbled at the sudden jump, but kept his footing.


“Zeno!” He gasped out in surprise. I looked up at him with a grin.


“Zeno missed you all! Where have you been?” I asked.


“Um, I'm not sure.” Kija answered. At this point, a strong hand dropped onto my head and I looked up towards the owner of the hand, Ryokuryu who playfully tousled my hair.


“Nice to see you too you little scamp. Where'd you run off to?” He asked.


“Here there and everywhere.” I answered with a grin. At this point, I'd taken in the rest of group and paused in curiosity at the sight of yet another human.


“Another human, where'd you come from and what's your name?” I asked.


“Add Vampiric blood and that's me. My name is Delsin Rowe, the Equestrian Eagle. I was summoned here by Kija,” He said to me.


“Summoned?” Lulu asked as she and Tia came up. “How? And from where?”


He pulled out a red and blue feather and continued. “This feather was the summoning medium and I'm from an alternate version of this world.”


I looked at the feather with curiosity and amazement. “Tell me more.” I asked.


“Let's talk in a more private setting,” he said, drinking something from a small canteen.

✴✴✴✴✴✴

(Delsin POV)


After we were led to the gardens and the guards and servants were dismissed, I began to explain about how I was there and the concept of the Multiverse. It was after my second or third drink from my canteen that Zeno questioned me about it.


“So what's that?” He asked as he pointed to my canteen. “Is it good? Could I try?”


“Are you a vampire?” I countered.


“Nope!” He said cheerfully.


“Then I don't recommend drinking this. It's a mixture of apple juice and manticore blood.”


Twilight and Rarity looked a little uneasy when I explained my drink, but Celestia and Luna remained strong to my curiosity.


“So why are you drinking it?” Zeno asked.


“Because I'm a vampire and I would rather not get in trouble for sinking my fangs into somepony’s neck,” I said rather bluntly.


Zeno looked at me sagely and nodded. “I suppose that means that vampires where you come from are different from the vampires here.”


“That, and I'm different from those vampires.”


“Wait, there are vampires here in this dimension?!” Twilight demanded.


“Of course there are!” Zeno burst out while Celestia and Luna nodded.


“Indeed. We ourselves have had many interactions with them.” Luna confirmed.


Twilight took that in and with a flash of her horn, a scroll and quill hovered in her magic. “What are they like.”


Zeno shrugged. “Like any normal pony but with some differences.” He answered.


“Is one of those differences a dislike for being in direct sunlight?” I asked.


“Yeah, kinda. But they don't burn to ash in sunlight.” Zeno explained casually as he crossed his legs. “It just weakens them and if they're out in the sun for extended periods of time, they start to feel ill. Like how you would feel if you had a bad cold.”


“Much like how I feel when in the sun...except, it feels too warm, too bright, and I get itchy.”


Twilight was writing her notes down furiously then turned to Zeno. “Can they turn ponies with a bite as well?” She asked.


“Yes, but they don't do it very often. They have other ways of maintaining their population.” Zeno replied.


“What other ways?” Twilight asked on the edge of her seat.


“Do I really need to explain the birds and the bees?” Zeno responded.


Twilight blushed a bright red at that.


“I guess that vampires here are just a pony subspecies, like the Crystal ponies,” I said.


“I suppose so, but they still prefer to stay hidden.” Zeno said in a somewhat serious tone.


“Why, for whatever reason darling?” Rarity asked. “They sound like perfectly civil ponies, I don't exactly see the problem.”


“Rarity, if you didn't know what you know now, what would your first thought be if you heard the word vampire?” Zeno countered. The unicorn paused to give the matter some thought before giving her answer.


“If I had heard the word vampire, I would likely think of a terrifying monster that would feast upon my blood.” She said honestly though her ears dropped as she saw the problem.


“Exactly.” Zeno said with a nod. “This thought and image is something that has been ingrained in ponies, but through no fault of their own. Furthermore, ponies in general tend to be xenophobic which makes it doubly hard. Some ponies even make it their mission in life to destroy monsters like vampires and they've even taken it to cult levels of insanity. All too often, vampires have been killed by such ponies. That's why they prefer to keep to the shadows.”


“That bad?” Zeno nodded to my question. “Huh, I just hope they are as disorganized as mobs and not like the Dawnguard in Skyrim.”


“One can hope.” Was all Zeno had to say on the matter. Twilight then cleared her throat so she could get Zeno's attention.


“So um, what do vampires....eat?” She asked hesitantly, the question clearly making her uncomfortable.


“Primarily meat.” Was the answer. “They can eat fruits and vegetables, but that's only to blend in amongst ponies. They get all their nutrients from meat and blood.”


Twilight looked like she was going to gag and Rarity seemed to be holding down her lunch.


“Don’t get so gaggy about it,” I told them. “It's part of their biology, and no amount of gagging can change it.”


“But it's meat.” Twilight protested. “You're basically eating the flesh of another living being. Doesn't that bother you?”


“Nope!” Zeno said.


I facepalmed at Zeno's answer. “Adding to what he said, if it is sapient, it's not on the menu. To be honest, I prefer fish to any other meat.”


“Which is a shame because I miss roast beef and hamburgers.” Zeno moaned. “But at least bacon and pork are still okay to eat.”


Twilight and Rarity looked at him in confusion. “Hamburger and roast beef, what's that mean?” The alicorn asked.


“Back on Earth, cows aren't sapient and hamburgers and roast beef are two different ways to serve it,” I explained. 


Twilight and Rarity once again looked ill and it was at this point that Jea-ha stepped into the conversation.


“Perhaps a change of subject would be appreciated.” He said and the two ponies only nodded. “I'm actually rather curious as to how vampires in this world gained their reputation.”


“In my world, their reputation came from a vampire named Bloody Marey. I had a brief tangle with her that made me a vampire.” I sighed in relief. “Good thing she's dead now.”


“Here in this world, it's a bit different.” Zeno said as he leaned back. “So get comfortable kiddies cause it's story time. See vampires aren't a 'naturally’ created species. They were engineered to be the perfect soldier by this guy named Grogar. See this guy was pretty power hungry and so using a combination of black magic and necromancy he created the first vampires. They were fast, strong, pretty much invulnerable and even if they got hurt, they could heal themselves even regenerating lost limbs. And they could maintain themselves with the blood and flesh of their enemies and make more with a bite.”


“That sounds stronger than my Vampirism. What else?”


“Vampires here can exude an aura that makes others ignore them somewhat like a perception filter, but only at night and on the other end of the spectrum they can invoke terror and if you look them in the eye when they do that, you're paralyzed.” Zeno answered. “Also, during Grogar's time he commanded his army through a psychic link that still lingers somewhat to this day. If they aren't focusing, vampires within range can read their surface thoughts. They also have excellent hearing and smell like dogs but much more powerful. Now brace yourselves because I'm about to get technical in order for you to understand what happened.”


“Historic moments?” I questioned. 


“More or less. Now when I say necromancy, you have to understand that there are two types of necromancers.” Zeno lifted two finger. “True necromancers and false necromancers. True necromancers are necromancers who don't just cast spells to raise and summon the dead, they have permission from Death him\herself to perform these spells. False necromancers don't. And Death doesn't give permission to just anypony. Only the more responsible and respectful ponies get such permission. Generally speaking, false necromancers use the spells for selfish purposes. And as a result, necromancers tend to get a bad reputation.”


“You speak as if you've met some.”


“I have.” Zeno confirmed with a nod. “They're  actually nice and pretty cool. Anyways, the reason why Death's permission is important is because it makes the spells easier. In particular, soul summoning. When a true necromancer summons a soul, it comes pretty easily. When a false necromancer summons a soul, things don't go as smoothly. It would be like dragging a cookie through a tube with nails pointing in the opposite direction. The cookie is going to get torn and scratched and you're going to lose bits and pieces or even the whole cookie.”


“So, I'm guessing that this Grogar is...was...a false necromancer and his creations turned against him,” I commented. “If he was a true necromancer, then such super soldiers would have been able to have been created.”


“Pretty much. They're called zombies.” Zeno answered.


I was a little confused. “Wait, zombies and vampires are the same here?”


“Zombies made by a true necromancer are no different from a normal pony with the exception of how they can't be killed. You could chop them to pieces and they'll still be able to carry on a conversation.” Zeno explained. “Zombies made by false necromancers however look more like the traditional image. You know, rotting flesh, limited intelligence and communication, easily killed, ecetera. With the exception of transferring with a bite. The reason for this is the soul. When the soul is undamaged and whole, then the body can be maintained and they can communicate like usual. When it's torn, damaged and missing pieces however, the body thinks it's still dead and begins rotting.”


“Anyway, back on the topic of vampires.”


“Grogar found a loophole.” Zeno said plainly. “He somehow tapped into the Aether, basically the magic of the world, and used that to summon souls. And with a little modification from black magic, he created his perfect army. It wasn't until a few vampires broke from his control that he was overthrown. Now the way necromancy works is that when the necromancer dies, the souls under his command return to the afterlife however that wasn't the case. Turns out that the magic he used in the creation of his soldiers was creation magic.”


“So, he created vampires and because of their creator, they are shunned?” I asked. 


“I'd say feared, but yeah. More or less.” Zeno nodded. “Creation magic is pretty potent stuff you know. Anyways, I wouldn't talk about that amongst vampires here it's a kinda touchy subject. Because of their extended life spans, some of the original vampires are around and that particular time period is traumatic.”


“Yikes, and I thought I had it bad,” I said, taking another drink of my canteen.


“Yep!” And like that, cheerful Zeno was back. “So, who's hungry? I know I am!”


“I'll go with a salad,” I answered. I then looked at Twilight and Rarity. “Unless they want to experience being a vampire first hand,” I said jokingly.


Rarity and Twilight inched away from me and Zeno burst out laughing.

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

(Jea-ha POV)


A short while later, we were enjoying lunch out in the gardens. Surprising or not surprisingly enough, meat was provided by the Royal Sisters. At first Twilight and Rarity were uncomfortable, but eventually they relaxed and began to enjoy their meal as well. Soon enough I decided to break the comfortable silence to ask the question that had been nagging at me.


“So Zeno, how exactly do you know Celestia and Luna?” I asked casually.


“Actually, I have a theory,” Delsin said. “Since Zeno is immortal, he was Displaced closer to the beginning of time on this world, where he waited for who-knows how long for you guys.”


Zeno hummed. “Pretty close. As for my relationship with these two, I pretty much raised Tia and Lulu.”


Twilight spit out her drink. “What!?”


Zeno grinned and slung one arm around Celestia and the other around Luna. “Yep! Found these two when they were fillies and took them in. And they were both so darned adorable!” He said with delight as he ruffled their manes.


“Zeno!” Luna protested in a tone almost like a whine while Celestia just straightened her mane. Everyone at the table just stared until the silence was broken once again. This time by Kija.


“Tia and Lulu?” He asked curiously and the ponies looked at him in horror like he'd just said something incredibly rude. Zeno just shrugged.


“That's what I call them. Their full names are too much of a mouthful.” The blonde said casually and the ponies looked like they might faint.


Delsin chuckled. “I think you broke their concept of reality.”


Celestia smiled while Zeno and Luna giggled at their expense and even I snorted. The only one who didn't join in the laughter was Kija, who was wearing an expression of confusion.


“Celestia and Luna don't seem like very long names.” He finally said. “I don't see how they could be a mouthful.”


“That's because Celestia and Luna aren't our full names.” The Solar Diarch said. “Rather they are shortenings of the names our parents gave us. My full name is Sol Savita Sunnivita Celestiamaiden.”


“And my full name is Moonbeam Breeze Kynthia Lulamoon.” Luna added. “Back then it was a thing to have a long name. Mostly amongst the unicorn and pegasus tribes. Earthponies chose shorter names and eventually the tradition was adopted by the other two tribes. Our parents called us Celestia and Luna for short and Zeno called us Tia and Lulu later.”


“And I still do.” Zeno said proudly.


“You should have seen Twilight after I revealed that I’m engaged to my world's Tia,” Delsin said, chuckling as he took another drink from his canteen.


“Really?” Celestia said with a raised brow. “Well I certainly hope you treat her right.”


Luna narrowed her eyes at Delsin. “Indeed.” She said cooly. “Because if you aren't, there is nothing that can stop me from exacting vengeance upon you. Your Celestia may not technically be 'my sister’, but I shall still bring harm to you if thou breaks her heart.”


“I'm actually more worried about what she would do if I did do that. My face is still sore from the number of times she introduced her hoof to my face and dragging me home after every time I'm done in another world.”


Luna only smirked and nodded before digging into her food. The next person to ask a question was once again Kija.


“So what happened to your parents?” He asked. “I'm sorry if that is a touchy subject and I'm sorry. Just asking out of curiosity.”


Celestia smiled at Kija in a very motherly way. “Don't worry, you didn't offend me. It's not that sensitive of a topic. Fact is, Luna and I lost our parents at a young age.”


Luna nodded. “Indeed. I can't even remember our parents very clearly.”


“One thing that you must understand is that we were born during a not very stable time.” Celestia picked up the story from there. “The three tribes had been united for roughly a hundred years, but that doesn't mean everything was instantly peaceful between them. Things were better than they had been before, but there were still schisms between the three tribes.”


“Our mother was a unicorn and our father was a pegasus.” Luna informed. “And back in those times, such a union was frowned upon and even seen as disgusting.”


“Some in my world still have that mentality...in five different ways,” Delsin said.


Celestia nodded. “In addition to this, there was much political upheaval. After all, once the three tribes united they couldn't just raise one pony amongst themselves to be a ruler. That would come with a whole host of other problems. That's why the leaders created The Council of the Three Tribes.”


“Which if you ask me was about as effective as a patch job on a shredded tire.” Zeno quipped.


“Yes well to make a long story short, our parents ended up being killed by a mob when we were very young leaving Luna and I to fend for ourselves.” Celestia said.


“At around that time, Zeno found us.” Luna continued, her eyes took on a faraway look as though remembering something. “I remember it like it was yesterday. A pair of drunken stallions thought they'd 'have fun’ with us but before they could do anything, Zeno swooped in and saved us.”


I honestly had nothing to say to that. Kija however had a few things to say. “How horrible!” He gasped in horror. “Weren't there any places like an orphanage or foster home where you could live back then?”


The two sisters shook their head simultaneously. “Not really, or at least none that would keep us together.” Celestia said. “I was born a unicorn and Luna was a pegasus. It was either be separated by different orphanages or live together on the streets.”


“I'm sure you can figure out which we chose.” Luna said. “Anyways, after he saved us Zeno took us in and he's been like a father to us ever since.”


I glanced at the 'young’ man in question. “An incredibly childish father if you ask me.” I added.


“Acting like an adult for so long will bring that out, as I have learned being stuck in stone,” Delsin nonchalantly said.


“I feel that when you've lived over a thousand years, one earns the right to not act their age.” Luna said. “It helps keep one sane.”


“Indeed.” Celestia said with a smirk as she took a sip of her drink. It was at that moment that the scream of a young male echoed across the garden.


“Sounds like Yoon's up.” Zeno hummed casually, catching the attention of both myself and Kija. “We should go see him before he ends up having a heart attack.”


Delsin slammed his head on the table. “You just had to mention something related to blood when my canteen ran out, didn't you?” He asked in irritation.

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

(Yoon POV)


When I first woke, I was hoping against hope that it was all a dream. That I was in a bed at the convention center or hospital after I collapsed and whatever I saw was just a bad dream. When I opened my eyes however, that hope went out the window and it got worse once I noticed myself. My costume was now real, I had been reverse aged and essentially was now Yoon. What else do you do in such a situation but scream.


Once I finished freaking out, I moved on to denial followed by trying to find a logical explanation for what was going on.


“Hallucinogens.” I burst out. “I'm probably on some sort of drug and experiencing hallucinations. But I don't recall having anything stronger than an aspirin and to my knowledge those don't have any hallucinogenic properties. Maybe I was drugged? After all, there's no way I'm in some strange land as Yoon.”


“If I could, I would bite you to prove such, but I can't,” I heard a voice say.


I whirled around to find the doorway crowded with people. Three of which I recognized from before I fainted and two I knew as Hakuryu and Ryokuryu. The other two ponies and one human however I didn't recognize.


“Who are you?” I blurted out.


“My name’s Delsin Rowe, the Equestrian Eagle,” the human said.


“Equestrian Eagle?” I asked I confusion. “Is that where I am?”


“Equestria is where you are, that is my title where I'm…” He paused, his face contorting in frustration. “Dang It!!! Will somepony get me a glass of pig’s blood! I'm getting thirsty looking at this young man!”


I stepped away from from Delsin in alarm. As I did so, one of the unknown ponies, a purple winged unicorn, stepped forward.


“Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle.” She greeted and introduced herself. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”


“I um, nice to meet you too.” I stuttered numbly as I felt all control over reality slip. The next pony to introduce herself was the white unicorn with the purple mane.


“I am Rarity Belle, but you can call me Rarity.” She said in a cultured tone. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance.”


“Uh-huh.” Was all I could get out.


“And this is Celestia and Luna!” Zeno said enthusiastically as he gestured to the white and blue winged unicorns respectively. He then continued on to the other two humans in the group. “And I believe you know Kija and Jea-ha.”


“Aunty!” I heard from just outside of the door. In entered a white unicorn with blonde mane and tail. “Did I just hear a vampire’s com…” He paused when he saw Rarity. Both her and Delsin turned their attention on him with glares. The unicorn muttered a barely audible “...eep…” and the two tackled him, kicking up dust and starting a brawl.


I just sat there shocked and Celestia looked at the brawl in irritation. A bright yellow glow surrounded her horn and the next thing I knew, Delsin and Rarity were floating in an identical glow......It was at this point that I just gave up on reality.


“Miss Rarity and Mister Delsin you are guests in my home and I expect you two to act like it.” She scolded sternly before turning to the white unicorn who was picking himself up and dusting himself off.


“Blueblood, are you okay?” She asked with concern as the unicorn fussed over his coat.


“Perfectly fine auntie.” He replied. “Just a mussed coat, nothing else.”


“Good.” She signed before turning to her prisoners. “Now, do either of you care to explain why you just attacked my nephew?”


“I was just making sure he will never forget what he did to me at the Gala,” Rarity stated. 


“And I was making sure he wouldn't hurt Rarity in the process,” Delsin said.


“I'm not sure what you expected me to do, but I was just coming to help the vampire that was in trouble.” Blueblood said as he glanced around the hallway. His eyes then locked on a certain point in the hallway and his ears flopped down.


“Oh.” He said as he sagged in disappointment. Everyone's gaze followed his and locked onto a shattered glass and the bright red liquid that was vanishing between the stones of the floor. Everyone paused for a beat to take in the situation.


Delsin facepalmed. “Of all the mistakes I had to make, it was forgetting that different dimensions have different versions of individuals and I assumed that this Blueblood here was a prissy, princely prick.”


“That's just a persona, an act.” Blueblood said with a wave of his hoof. “I don't completely blame you for your actions. I just wish that this wasn't the result. The only alternative I have is my own blood and I'm not sure how that would affect you.”


Rarity looked confused. “Affect him? Why on earth would you think that?” She asked.


Blueblood paused and glanced at Celestia who nodded. The unicorn stallion nodded back then closed his eyes and took a deep breath before answering.


“Because I'm not sure what effects another vampire’s blood can have on him.” He said and like an illusion dropping, his teeth changed, going from flat herbivorous teeth to wicked sharp points with prominent fangs that stuck out. Rarity instantly backpedaled from Blueblood at the sight and the rest stiffened in surprise with the exception of Celestia, Luna and Zeno.


“Huh, that was...unexpected,” Delsin said quietly.


“I imagine so.” Blueblood said as he reached up. “And since I'm in good company, I hope you don't mind if it take out my colored contacts. They aren't the most comfortable so I like to find time to remove them in private.”


“I don't mind,” Delsin said as his eyes briefly glowed yellow then red and then bright blue. “I have my eye issues as well.”


Blueblood looked at me curiously as he held a contact in one hoof, revealing the bright red eye beneath. “Interesting. I only wear my contacts for cosmetic reasons. Part of my disguise. My usual contacts were damaged a few weeks ago so I've been wearing replacements until they are fixed. Unfortunately, these barely fit so they haven't felt all that comfortable.”


As he spoke, he finished removing his contacts and set them on Celestia's desk. “Now, down to business. You mentioned separate dimensions, so is it safe to assume that you aren't from here?”


“Yes, and my dimension’s version of you is a criminal,” Delsin bluntly said.


“Fascinating. Well I doubt that anything I say will convince you that I'm not like my counterpart but can I assume that vampirism in your world is transferred through bite?”


“And through a rare disease, Sanguinare Vampiris.” Delsin rubbed a spot on his neck. “I got mine through a bite.”


“Hm, and you mentioned that you needed some blood before you bite someone so I'm guessing that in your world, vampirism is different than here.” Blueblood continued with a nod then smirked playfully. “And if you're wondering how I heard, I'm a vampire. We have excellent hearing. Plus you were shouting. I would've been able to hear you if I was on the other side of the castle.”


“Yes it is, but at the same time, I'm different from those vampires...and I don't want to sound rude, but I don't want to explain the differences.”


“Fair enough.” Blueblood said with a shrug. “Just tell me how badly you need blood.”


“I'm trying not to look directly at anyone's neck...if that answers your question.”


Blueblood nodded. “Well then, there's nothing else for it. You may drink my blood.”


Delsin wasted no time and immediately stuck his fangs in Blueblood’s neck and sucked up some blood before pulling off. After smacking his lips and pulling out a handkerchief to clean his face, he said, “Your blood tastes stale.”


Blueblood chuckled in amusement as the holes sealed themselves. Celestia looked at him in concern, but Blueblood just waved his hoof.


“Don't worry about me, it's not like a vampire’s bite can make me more of a vampire then I currently am.” He assured her. “And even if he did transfer something, my immune system will make short work of it before it has a chance to take root. I'm a bit more concerned about him and his side effects.”


“Not so loud please,” Delsin said, holding his ears.


Blueblood sighed. “Like that.” He said. “Vampires here are the result of necromancy and creation magic which lingers in our DNA to a certain degree. Clearly enough that you now have at least one new vampire ability. I highly doubt our limited psychic link transferred over, but perhaps the others have.”


He hummed in thought. “Try taking in a breath. What do you smell?”


Delsin took a breath and his face cringed. “Rarity, don't use so much hair gel. No offense, but it smells like rotten fruit mingled with air freshener.”


Blueblood chortled. “I feel your pain. You should have smelled it when she was at the Gala.” He said and Rarity's cheeks puffed up.


“Well excuse me for having style.” She said with a snort as she turned her nose up.


Blueblood let out a snort of his own, but didn't continue. “Alright now, that's two abilities down. Tell me, how well do vampires in your world handle sunlight?”


“They can die in sunlight,” he told Blueblood. “Myself, however, I just get a bit weaker.”


“Hmm, in that case I'm not sure if our sun immunity has had much of an affect on you.” He hummed thoughtfully. “Strength, speed, durability and healing can be tested at a later date and are relatively easy to control provided you're careful with your strength and speed. Big question is if you have our perception filter and\or can invoke terror and paralysis.”


Delsin adjusted his hood and his face became completely hidden, except for his eyes, which glowed yellow.


“Impressive. You managed to toggle you're perception filter to shroud just your face.” Blueblood murmured in approval. “Usually it takes training to focus the filter on just one space on your body. But I suppose that's not a surprise, it only works at full power at night. Especially under moonlight. Now try evoking terror.”


Smoke started pouring out of his hood and his eyes turned red as he looked directly at me. I then heard a voice say, “What do you hope to accomplish?...Do not deny your fear...The Final Darkness is nigh!”


A chill ran through my body as terror gripped my heart and when I glanced around, I saw that I wasn't the only one affected. Twilight and Rarity had backed up to the farthest corner of the room while Kija and Jea-ha stood battle ready but even they inched away slowly. The only one who didn't seem affected were Celestia, Luna, Zeno and Blueblood. But even then I could see minute trembling in Celestia and Luna's legs.


Turning back to Delsin, I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. Instantly, my body felt numb and I lost strength in my legs. As I tumbled towards the floor, Kija caught me and the heavy oppressive feeling left the room. It was at this point that I finally spoke.


“Well this has been fun and all, but could somebody please tell me what the hell is going on!” I demanded.

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

(Kija POV)


After setting Yoon back on the bed, we started bringing him up to speed n events. Mid way through however, Zeno broke in.


“So when is Seiryuu going to join us?” He asked after Twilight gave an account of what happened with Fluttershy and the timberwolves. “I've been wondering why he wasn't here. So, why and when?”


“Shortly after I met Kija, my doppelganger attacked Seiryuu,” Delsin said.


“He was badly injured and had to stay in the hospital.” Twilight continued. Zeno frowned in concern.


“How badly injured?” He asked.


“As far as I can guess, he's lucky his internal organs are still inside of him,” Delsin spat. “I am starting to get annoyed at his constant attempts to spread bloody chaos.”


Zeno’s concerned frown deepened. “He'll be okay, right?” He asked and I nodded.


“He will. Delsin was able to semi heal him and the doctors at the Ponyville hospital say he'll make a full recovery if he just rests.” I informed him.


Zeno sighed in relief and turned to Delsin in curiosity. “You can heal?” He asked.


“It's connected to my conduit powers.” His arms lit up with smoke. “But it can't heal completely.”


“Cool!” Zeno said with a twinkle in his eye.


“I think we're getting a little off topic here.” Yoon called out from his spot on the bed.


“Sorry.” I apologized as I looked Yoon over in concern. “How are you feeling?”


“Still a little numb, but I am getting some feeling back to my toes though I can tell it's going to be a while before I can move.” Yoon said. Blueblood nodded.


“That is normal.” He said. “Don't worry though, you'll be mobile once more shortly.”


“I didn't mean to do that,” Delsin said.


“It's okay.” Yoon said. “I shouldn't have looked into your eyes. I'll be fine. Continue.”


And so we continued filling him in including our new knowledge of vampires leading up to this point.


“Alright then, now what?” Rarity asked. “We've now found all four plus one so now what do we do?”


I placed a hand on my chin and hummed in thought. Then I remembered one thing that Delsin told us about Displaced.


“Delsin, could you teach us how to make a Token before you leave?” I asked.


“Okay.” Delsin looked at us. “What do you have that can represent the group?”


I paused trying to think when Rarity raised a hoof. “I think I may have something. But it's back the boutique.”


Jea-ha shrugged. “That's alright, we need to go back to Ponyville anyways. Can't leave Shin-ah out of this.”


“Then let's get our rears in gear!” Delsin called out. “The Multiverse is waiting!”

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

Unfortunately we weren't able to leave right away. Celestia had to have a chariot prepared and then there was the matter of Yoon. But the Royal Guard is nothing if not quick and I volunteered to carry Yoon until he could carry himself. As we landed in front of Rarity's boutique, Yoon regained feeling in his body and was walking around experimentally when Rarity returned with something in her magical grasp.


When Twilight got a good look at it, she gasped. “Rarity, is that Steven’s scale?” She asked.


“Why of course darling.” She said as she waved the shiny purple scale. “It's such a lovely scale it would have been criminal to just leave it mouldering in the forest. So I kept it around as a souvenir of our first adventure together. Of course I asked permission first and Steven was kind enough to say yes.”


“Is that what you were doing when you lagged behind on the way out of the forest?” Twilight asked.


“Indeed it was.” Rarity answered. I looked at her in confusion.


“Steven?” I asked in confusion.


“Steven Magnet, a good friend of ours. I'll tell you more about it later.” Rarity said casually then continued on towards the hospital with Twilight, Celestia, Luna and Zeno in tow. I nodded then both Jea-ha and I turned to Delsin, the unasked question in our eyes.


“Give me a moment to think,” he said. “I'm trying to think of how it can be useful to other Displaced.”


“What do you mean?” I asked.


“One moment.” He reached into his pocket, muttering something about Screwball. He then pulled out a sword from said pocket and gave it a light flick, causing the blade to separate into segments and go limp like a rope. “This whip-blade is another Displaced’s token. It serves the usual summoning purpose, but it can be used to fight as well.”


“Do all tokens have to have a practical use?” Jea-ha asked.


“Not necessarily, but with something that size-” He pointed at the scale. “-It would work best as a weapon or...hold on.”


“Since this is all based on a show, and I'm assuming this scale made an appearance in the show, what was this scale’s role in the show?” Jea-ha asked.


“Rarity used it as a blade to cut off her tail to repair Steven’s mustache,” Delsin deadpanned. “And Rarity forgot that she could have trimmed the longer side and restyle the messed up side.”


“It's the thought that counts, anyways sounds like it pretty sharp, at least enough to cut hair so...Razor?” Jea-ha said and I nodded.


“By the way, you never told us who or what this 'Steven Magnet’ is.” I said.


“He's a sea serpent that, ironically, lives in a river in the Everfree,” he explained.


“Uh-huh.” Was all I had to say.


“Hey, are you coming?” Zeno called out and we turned to see the others were waiting for us further down the road. Zeno was standing on Celestia's back (much to the horror of Rarity, Twilight and and passing ponies) and waving to us as he called out.


“Coming!” Jea-ha called back before turning to us. “Perhaps we should pick this up another time, we wouldn't want to get left behind would we?”


“Nope!” Delsin said, before taking a swig from his freshly refilled canteen.


I just nodded and followed to catch up with the group.

✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴

(Shin-ah POV)


After I replaced my blindfold, I decided to take a nap. I was in a lot of pain, but the medicine the doctors had me on was some pretty powerful stuff because it knocked me out pretty quickly. I was awoken suddenly by a bang and a shout that had me jumping in surprise, much to the chagrin of my sore body.


“SEIRYUU!!” Came the youthful shout as a blonde boy ran in. “Zeno heard that you were hurt! Are you alright? How are you feeling?”


“Zeno.” I said softly as he hurled himself forward before stopping short of hugging me. “I'm okay.”


Zeno smiled and pat my head. “That's good.” He said. “And don't you worry, Zeno will do whatever he can to help.”


“Thank you.” I said softly. By then, the other two had gathered by my bedside, Kija holding a strange scale the size of a wok pan. It was long and shaped like an elongated teardrop with a deep purple hue.


“What's that?” I asked.


“A dragon's scale, though it might be more accurate to call it a sea serpent scale since that's where it came from.” Kija said. “We're going to use it to make our token.”


“Oh.” Was all I said. Jea-ha then turned to Delsin.


“So how does this work?” He asked. “What are we supposed to do?”


“Think of some sort of introduction and I'll make sure that Screwball will do the rest,” he told us.


“Okay then.” Kija held up the scale. “Everyone grab onto the scale and let's start.”


I lifted my hand and grabbed my closest corner while Zeno and Jea-ha did the same. As we held on, I noticed new colors seeping into the scale where our hands touched. Blue for me, green for Jea-ha, white for Kija and yellow for Zeno. We looked a little curious, but pressed forward. And as we spoke, the colors grew and spread.


“Ahem, hello fellow Displaced, I am Kija the Hakuryu,” Kija began in a formal tone.


“And I am Jea-ha, the Ryokuryu,” Jea-ha continued in a deep almost flirtatious voice.


“I am Zeno the Ouryuu, pleased to meet you!” Zeno cried out cheerfully then nudged me.


“And I am the Seiryuu, Shin-ah.” I concluded introductions then Kija picked it up from there.


“We are the four dragon warriors and if you should require our aid in battle-” At this point Jea-ha cut him off.


“Or wish to have fun-” he said in a definitely flirtatious voice before he was cut off by a shout of “Jea-ha!” From a blushing Kija. Zeno picked it up from there.


“Or just want to hang out-” he got out before ceding to Kija.


“Then you can call upon us and we will answer your call.” He finished. By this point the new colors and replaced the old purple hue, resulting in a harmonious mix of green, blue, white and yellow. Kija lifted the scale and turned back to Delsin.


“Now what?” He asked.


Delsin took the scale and held it above his head. The scale was enveloped in a yellow light and a void portal opened. He then took the scale and tossed it through. We all linked and watched as the void sealed shut leaving no evidence that it was there.


“So now what?” Jea-ha asked Delsin. “We've now gathered together and you've helped us send our token out. What are you going to do now?”


“I need to head home,” he answered. “I just need your help.”


“How may we help?” Kija asked.


“Just say, ‘Delsin, our contract is complete.’”


Kija nodded. “Okay. Delsin, our-” the Hakuryu was suddenly cut off by a scream of “WAIT!” as Pinkie burst in the room and handed Delsin a cake box.


“Here you go, I baked it especially from you.” She said with a smile. “I added pigs blood in the frosting so only you and other vampires can eat it. You take care you scamp and thanks for all your help!”


“...Okay...Thanks?” He said.


We all smiled. “She is right. It was a pleasure to meet you and thank you very much for you're invaluable assistance. I hope we can meet once again.” Kija said with a bow. I couldn't bow, but I could at least give him a nod of thanks.


“Thank you for saving my life.” I said in a quiet voice.


“Your welcome,” Delsin said. “Now, the phrase?”


“Of course.” Jea-ha answered. “Remember, don't be a stranger, feel free to stop by and Delsin, our contract is complete.”


Another void portal opened. Delsin handed the cake box to Kija and walked to the portal...only for a golden clad hoof to punch him and send him to the floor. He then motioned for Kija to hand back the cake, which he did, just as another Celestia grabbed his pants leg and pulled him through. The void closed, leaving the hospital room in a silence that was broken by Fluttershy.


“So, how was your trip to Canterlot?” She asked.
> Side Chapter: Discussions of Meat
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once everyone had gathered together, Twilight and Rarity gave their account of the events in Canterlot. It was when Twilight brought up the topic of meat that the conversation took a strange turn.

"-and that's when Zeno revealed that vampire ponies here eat...meat." Twilight paused to gag a little and was surprised when, aside from Rarity, her other friends didn't react. This made the unicorn and alicorn look at them curiously.

"You seem awfully calm about this." Rarity said with curiosity. The four friends just shrugged and gave their answers, Pinkie being the first.

"Well you know I'm always making everyone in Ponyville happy including our small population of carnivores. It's a little gross at first, but you get used to it."

"I take care of lots of animals with carnivorous diets." Fluttershy piped up next. "Creatures like housecats and ferrets have strictly carnivorous diets. But I always make sure none of the hunters hunt in my house. That's rule number one at my cottage and I always make sure to enforce it."

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "You all know my best buddy at Flight Camp was Gilda and Gilda's a griffin. Griffins are one of those carnivorous species so she always ate meat at lunch. At first it was really gross but eventually I got used to it. This one time, I think I may have made a particularly disgusted face because suddenly Gilda's daring me to eat a piece of bacon and not hurl it. And of course Rainbow Danger Dash never backs down from a challenge."

Several of her friends gasped and Dash just shrugged again. "It actually wasn't that bad and I kept it down. All in all, if someone dared me to eat meat again, I'm pretty sure I'd win it."

At this point, the pegasus was puffing out her chest and Applejack snorted. Everypony turned to the farmpony, the unspoken question hanging in the air. The earthpony pushed herself off the hospital room wall before answering.

"Y'all know that we have pigs on mah farm right?" She asked and her friends nodded. "Well as wonderful as pigs are, they aren't pets, their livestock and there's mostly only one thing pigs are good for."

Everypony blinked then their eyes widened and a few turned green at the gills. "Applejack, you don't mean too say....." Rarity started delicately but didn't have the stomach to finish her question. She hoped she was wrong, but a nod from Applejack shattered that hope. Everyone except Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie looked like they were going to be sick.

"You'd be surprised all the uses for a pig besides meat ya know." AJ said casually. "Fertilizer, paint brushes, shampoo, dog snacks, crayons, corks and camera film are all products of various parts of a pig and that's just to name a few. Heck, even yer face masks at the spa are product of a pig. The Apple family prides itself on using every part of the hog. And naturally we've had pork for dinner a few times."

"It's true, even my whipped cream uses gelatin which comes from pigs." Pinkie piped up. "And where do you think I got the pigs blood I used in Delsin's cake?"

"M-moving on." Twilight stuttered and changed the subject before anyone could toss their cookies. The rest of the conversation continued without a hitch, but the conversation wasn't forgotten. Later that day, Twilight would be studying what she could on the subject of meat and animal products.