> Cross-World Brotherhood > by Mareofkindness > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 - Always Running > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jaden kept holding onto his mom as she was being pulled in by this black smoke-like being. “I’m telling you Jaden, you need to run!” Mountain Mist yelled, the darkness consuming her body. Despite her pleading, Jaden refused to leave. “No!” Jaden yelled over the whispering that surrounded his mother. “I’m not letting go!” “Jaden…” his mother Mist held him close, and gave him a loving, motherly kiss. “Jaden. Remember that I will always love you. Be strong, for me, and your family. Run.” Jaden, tears flooding his eyes, kissed his mother goodbye one last time and took off. Before his mother was completely consumed, she yelled from afar: “I love you!” Jaden kept running and running and running. He always listened to his mother, and kept running until he couldn’t run anymore. He must have ran about a mile or so when he tripped over a stray stone and landed on the ground hard. His body was aching all over, especially his wings. He didn’t know they were broken, nor did he know what to do. He lay there on his side, taking in the events of the night. He didn’t know how to get home, he didn’t know where his family went… he just lay there and cried. After celebrating the events of Nightmare Night and learning to control her voice for the first time, Princess Luna was heading back to Canterlot to tell her sister Celestia all about what she learned. She took her trotting slowly, and smelled the cool air of the night. She furthered herself from the distant smell of popcorn and sweets, until she ran into something small. Luna looked down and saw a small blue filly laying on its side. The little colt was barely conscious, but looked up a little at Luna, his eyes slowly closing. She took in his little halo and his beautiful white wings, and gasped in awe. “I’ve never seen something on a pony so beautifully…” she thought to herself. Luna decided to sit down next to the filly and sang him a small poem she remembered writing: “Quiet, my child, The daytime needs rest, Do come with me, You are simply the best.” Luna blushed a little at the poem she sang. Surely she has never had foals before, but why did she sing that one in particular? Luna put the filly on her back and flew to Canterlot, adding “I promise you, little one. I promise I will make you better.” After the flight, Luna zipped over to a nearby hospital. A nurse rushed to her and asked what she can do for the princess. Luna explained the situation about the filly on her back and that he needs medical attention. The nurse asked “are you his mother?” Luna turned a little pink and answered “no, I just found him.” They took the filly to the OR to repair his broken wing, as Luna sat in the waiting room. She couldn’t help but think: “why does everypony think he’s my son?,” and “how can I help him?” What seemed like an eternity of waiting finally came to an end. A different nurse came out to the almost empty waiting room and called “Princess Luna?” She looked up, jumped up, and rushed over to the nurse. “Is he ok?” “Fortunately, yes. We were able to give his wings a cast, and he’s currently out cold in his room. Would you like to see him?” Luna was excited, nervous, and scared all at the same time, but on the outside she kept her composure. “Yes please.” The nurse brought Luna to the colt’s room, where he was sleeping, eyes closed, with a breathing mask. “He’s been asleep or knocked out for a few hours now. You may spend as long as you need to, Princess.” The nurse left the room and left Luna to visit. The princess sat with the filly for an hour, right next to him. She soon became drowsy, and despite herself wanting to stay awake, she fell asleep; her hooves hugging Jaden, entering a peaceful slumber. Luna woke up the next morning and immediately felt like she was holding something. She looked down and saw she was hugging the filly whom she rescued the previous night. She gently put him back in bed, and pulled the covers up. “Rest now, my child of the night.” Luna spoke softly to the filly. Luna began to leave the room as she heard something shift behind her. The princess turned around to see the filly was tossing and turning, as if he was having a nightmare. Luna hurried back over to him and pet him gently. After a minute, he miraculously opened his light green eyes and saw Luna. He smiled and reached out for a hug, though quickly retracting from his wings being in so much pain. “It’s ok, sweetie. I’ll give you a hug.” Luna gave the colt a hug as he cried a little. “Can I have a kiss too?” He asked. “Give a kiss to a random filly? Well, he’s not really random, I did save his life… ok.” Luna nodded and gave him a kiss on the forehead, to which he blushed and giggled a little. “What’s your name, little one?” Luna asked out of curiosity. “Jaden Mist.” The colt responded. “I am only a filly, but I want to stand up for others!” Jaden declared. Luna laughed a little and smiled. “Where’s your family?” Jaden stopped and stared at Luna. “I have two sisters and one brother. No mommy, no daddy.” Luna was shocked at this “no mother, no father, two sisters, one brother, and you broke your wings? You poor little colt Jaden. I’m sorry you had to go through this.” Jaden looked at Luna as she was thinking about how terrible she felt. “Will you be my mommy?” Jaden asked, interrupting Luna’s thinking. She genuinely didn’t know how to answer. Did she want a child? He has family, but they’re nowhere to be found. What if sister found out? Luna put all her questions aside, took a deep breath, and smiled. “Of course I’ll be your mommy.” Jaden jumped into Luna as she held him close. “All will go well with Jaden.” Luna thought to herself. “I’m certain that he will bring good to Equestria, I promise.” > Chapter 2 - Some Time Doesn’t Heal > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The time was just about midnight, as a young wolf cub was fast asleep. He was dreaming of a wonderful dream, in which he was playing with his favorite ball with his friends. The cub and a few of his friends were playing Filly in the Middle, and he was in the middle, tirelessly chasing the ball soaring in the air. The fillies; Twist, Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, pushed the ball up into the air. As it rose like a plane, and flew like a phoenix, it didn’t come back down as gracefully as the cub had imagined. In fact, not only had the ball frozen, but so had the other fillies. Heck all time stood still, and at that point, the cub knew it was the work of a close friend, and him alone. The wolf called out amongst the stillness: “come out, Discord, I know it’s you.” The ball in mid-air turned around to reveal Discord’s face. “Oh come on, Teotle, don’t act like you don’t enjoy my company.” Teotle sighed and replied “Well, it’s not that I don’t, but rather, I don’t always know what to expect.” Teotle paused before continuing; “I doubt you came here just to say hello, knowing your tricks. What are you up to this time?” Discord frowned and looked at Teotle “why? Can’t a master of chaos and destruction come by to visit his friends every now and again?” In response, Teotle rolled his eyes. “Perhaps… if he didn’t have any schemes up his sleeves every single time he does.” Discord gasped sarcastically and rolled up his arms, as he has done before. “Your other sleeve…” Discord rolled up his hoofed leg to reveal a small folded paper, orgami’d to look like Fluttershy. Discord unfolded the paper, summoned his reading glasses, and read the paper while squinting; pretending to focus on the words he never wrote down. “You didn’t write anything, did you?” Discord handed Teotle the paper and replied “have a look for yourself.” Teotle opened the paper to find he was right after all. “I told you-“ Teotle made out before a portal opened up and pulled him through. The opening lead to a world between dimensions, that flowed with deep shades of blue and purple. The hues and shades flowed throughout the realm, though Teotle found himself floating in between different realms and dimensions. He passed by many openings before landing on a floating bed of light. Discord snapped his fingers and reappeared in front of Teotle. Although Discord thought the ride was quite the attraction, Teotle had other things to say. “What was that all about?!” Discord snickered in delight as Teotle simply stood there in total confusion. “Oh my little pony- I mean wolf,” Discord said “I don’t know about you, but this is just a regular day for me!” Teotle, knowing Discord’s attitude to make everything either chaotic or nice for Fluttershy, asked: “where are we, anyway? This certainly isn’t Canterlot… at least from what I see.” Discord curled one of his eyebrows with his finger, having a puzzled look on his face. “Someone like you should know what place this is. But then again, this is where your father traveled through…only to fall into the Everfree Forest.” The wolf’s eyes light up as he enthusiastically asked “you mean the night Luna found him after the eclipse???” “Precisely.” Discord summoned a pot of tea and poured a cup as Teotle spoke: “Why didn’t you say anything?!?” Discord spit out his tea and said “I am saying something, right now. Now, I’m here to tell you where your father came from.” “Well, which dimension is he from???” Discord shrugged and replied: “I don’t know! All I know is that he came through this ‘space between spaces’ and ended up in the Everfree Forest.” Teotle was beginning to, despite his calm nature, lose his patience. “I’m glad you’ve told me this much, but if you don’t know what other world he’s from, why couldn’t you just have told me back in Ponyville in the morning?” Discord pulled a book out of nowhere titled: “Teotle: Facts and Not So Obvious Facts” and flipped a few pages before answering. “The reason I didn’t do that was because I wanted to share even more fun facts about your family. In particular, your adoptive grandmother Princess Luna.” Teotle looked Discord straight in the eyes and asked “what about her?” Discord snapped his fingers and brought Teotle somewhere else. ‘No,’ Teotle thought to himself, ‘this is different than before.’ Discord stood next to Teotle and showed the wolf through a window, which revealed a pegasus foal with white wings cuddling with Luna as they both soundly slept. Teotle’s stomach didn’t sit right with what he saw. “Who’s that?” He asked with curiosity. Discord looked down at Teotle and replied with a grin: “that, Teotle, would just so happen to be her new adopted son.” Teotle was confused again. “Like a brother? Or is he more like an uncle?” “Not necessarily either,” Discord replied. “This Luna only has this foal as her own.” Teotle wanted answers. “What do you mean, ‘this Luna?’” Discord wasn’t very pleased the way Teotle questioned him, but answered. “The Luna from this dimension. Were you not paying attention?” Teotle, unsure of Discord’s suspicious intentions, answered his question. “Yes, I have been paying attention. Though I don’t see the point of this, neither did you explain why you brought me here in the first place.” Discord didn’t know how to bring up his point to the wolf without making it seem negative. He struggled to find words as Teotle impatiently waited for an answer. “I’m still waiting, Discord.” Discord gathered a rough idea and took a deep breath. “Technically speaking, Teotle… your um… your father…” “Yes, c’mon, what about him?” “When he fell through the portal into Equestria, he um…” Teotle was getting extremely impatient and yelled at Discord. “What is it?!?” “Your father was never supposed to fall through that portal, and because of this, your relationship with Luna was never supposed to happen.” > Chapter 3 – Descending Into Hearthwarming > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Teotle was frozen in place. He didn’t know what to do, what to say, what reaction to give. Him not knowing his mother Luna? Being replaced with a filly? None of what he witnessed made any sense. Several minutes passed of Teotle standing there silently before he broke the silence. “Discord…” Discord, looked down at Teotle, as he felt deep remorse for the wolf. He witnessed Teotle standing, shuddering, and shedding tears. He really, truly wanted to help Teotle, but Discord knew deep down, he should have kept it to himself. Teotle took a seat on a walkway nearby, and lay down. He cried, and he cried, and he didn’t want to stop. The pain he felt in his heart was indescribable, and he refused to move. The night began to bring rain, as it started to sprinkle. Discord knew what he did; he hurt his relationship with the one wolf that befriended him besides Fluttershy giving him a chance. He walked over to Teotle, and sat next to him. Never did the both of them feel so much negativity together. Just then, somepony could be heard coming, and Discord looked down at Teotle. “I have to hide. I’ll find you when it’s clear.” The draconequis snapped his fingers and disappeared, as Teotle still lay in the street soaking wet. The rain was cold, but it was therapeutic; at least for Teotle. A blue filly and his mother were coming closer to Teotle, as he was shaken to the core. “Woona, it’s a wolf!” The filly jumped up and down in excitement and dashed over. Teotle yelped in fear and his mother held the filly back with a dark blue magic. “But Woona, he’s so pretty! He’s a beautiful wolfie, Woona! What are we gonna do?” The mother looked at her son and told him to stay back. The alicorn approached Teotle slowly, and with caution. He whimpered as the princess spoke softly: “hey, it’s ok. You’re safe, don’t worry.” Teotle didn’t realize who it was at first because he cried over all the talking, but he knew now; it was Princess Luna. He put his head up and looked behind him, and sure enough, it was her. Teotle, still fear-stricken from what Discord told him, backed up from Luna. “Shhhh, it’s ok, little one, you’re a good wolf. Please let me help you.” Luna lay down in front of Teotle and put her hoof out to show she was friendly. Teotle slowly came towards Luna and eventually sniffed her hoof. Unbeknownst to Teotle, he was using his instincts to interact, and he wasn’t acting like himself. Luna slowly moved her hoof and caressed him, brushing her hoof through his soaking wet hair. Soon enough, Teotle was closing his eyes. He was falling asleep and being taken away. It was only a matter of time before he would sleep peacefully. After a few hours of drying off Teotle, putting him in Jaden’s bed, and putting a blanket on him for comfort. Jaden peeked through the doorway gap to get a glimpse of Teotle sleeping. “Jaden!” Luna quickly got Jaden back. “You must be careful! I do not want to lose you to this wolf. I know, he seems friendly, but we will have to see how he acts.” Teotle woke up and yawned, stretched, and felt around him. He didn’t know where he went, but where he was put was nice and comfortable. He tossed the blanket off his back and tried to stand on two legs, but flopped over. ‘What? I used to be able to stand on my hind legs… what happened?’ Luna heard the crash and quietly came to the door and slowly opened it. She saw the wolf laying on his side, and smiled with warmth. “Good morning, little one. I’m happy to see you up. I’m just finishing dinner, and you’re more than welcome to join us.” Luna half-closed the door, but Jaden snuck in and kept the door open halfway. Teotle saw Jaden and thought he had seen him somewhere before. “Hi little wolfy! I’m Jaden, what’s your name?” Teotle drew a complete blank at this moment, despite how simple the question was. “T-Teot-le.” Jaden tilted his head and asked: “Teotle?,” to which the wolf nodded. Jaden gave Teotle a big hug and smiled. “I hope Woona lets you stay with us! You’re a big sweet wolfy and I love you so very much!” “Jaden! Dinner time! Please get the cub and encourage him to eat with us!” Jaden smiled at Teotle. “I have to go wash my hooves. If you have trouble finding me, just call my name.” Jaden left as Teotle lay on the bed, extremely puzzled. ‘I’m a cub? Last time I remember I was a wolf and I had a mechanical arm and I-” Then Teotle realized the friend he was missing, that went to hide and never came out. ‘Discord! I have to go find him!’ Teotle bolted out of the bedroom and out the front door as Luna was just sitting down. “Wha-” It was a sunny day out for the morning. Nonetheless, Teotle kept running and running and running, calling out his companion’s name. “Discord!” “Discord?!” “Discord!!” Eventually he ran into Luna, quite literally, and looked up. Luna picked him up and hugged him, as she added “Oh little cub, you can’t go out on the streets at this time of day! Let’s get you back inside.” Luna brought Teotle up the stairs as he thought to himself. ‘Discord isn’t around? But I thought he was going to hide and then come back… what if he forgot?’ The thought process was interrupted by Luna opening up the front door, setting Teotle down, and closing the door behind her. “Sweetheart, Equestria doesn’t know that there are wolves returning. If somepony found out, the press and the nation will go ballistic!” Jaden chimed in and corrected Luna; “his name is Teotle, Woona.” Luna turned to Jaden and raised an eyebrow. “How do you know his name?,” to which Jaden replied “he told me when I told him that dinner was ready. We kind of introduced ourselves.” She turned to Teotle and gave him a sharp stare. “Is this true, ‘Teotle?’” Teotle took a big gulp, knowing he had some explaining to do. > Chapter 4 – Good Intentions > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luna stood, staring down Teotle like a hawk. She waited impatiently for an answer. Teotle fumbled at his English, confused as to why. Despite all of Rarity’s English classes, he seemed like he lost some elements of his speech. “It true.” Teotle finally answered. “Jaden and I meet.” Luna raised an eyebrow, for she never heard such poor English, nor did she know he could speak. “Where are you from, Teotle?” Luna kept eyeing Teotle as she wanted answers. Wolves haven’t been in Equestria for quite some time, and seeing one was indeed a surprise, even to Luna. “Far place from here. Place only Discord find.” Luna dilated her pupils at the comment. “You know Discord?? King of chaos and destruction??” Teotle nodded, as Luna was dumbfounded at this fact. “He disappear after bring me here.” Luna, extremely tired of the poor grammar, face-hoofed and walked into her bedroom. “This is absolutely pointless!” Luna yelled from the other room. Teotle flattened his ears, as Jaden came next to him and sat down. “She always angry here?” Teotle asked Jaden. Jaden tilted his head in confusion. “Are you not from Equestria?” “Not this one.” Teotle replied. Jaden became so very puzzled at this moment. ‘Why is he saying he’s not from this Equestria? There’s only one Equestria as far as I know.’ Jaden thought. “If you’re not from ‘this’ Equestria, and you’re from a different nation, then where are you from?” Teotle shrugged and answered ‘other Equestria.” Jaden looked at Teotle and smiled as the cub’s ears were still flattened. Teotle looked at Jaden as his ears popped up, as if the wolf got an idea. “You have word book?” “A word book?” Jaden thought about what a “word book” could mean. “What kind of word book?” “All word!” “…Oh, a dictionary! Yeah let me get that!” Jaden ran over to the old oak bookshelf in the living room and barely grabbed a thick-looking textbook labeled: “Equestrian New Pony Dictionary.” Jaden gave Teotle the book and he flipped through the pages, just to make sure it’s a dictionary. He closes it abruptly and summons blue flames from his paws. The flames engulf the book and make the pages turn rapidly. Jaden was amazed, but didn’t know much about fire, as he yelled “Put it down! It’s on fire!” “Not fire, it spell!” Teotle corrected as the words elegantly flew off the page and formed a tornado-shape. The storm went into one ear and out the other, as Teotle was memorizing all the words and context that were in that dictionary. After this, the words begin to deform out of the tornado-like shape, and return to their proper pages. With that, the book slammed shut and flew back into the bookshelf, placed exactly where Jaden first saw it. Jaden was astonished that a cub like Teotle was able to pull off such an advanced spell. Jaden clapped his hooves in applause, for such a wonderful performance. Before all this, Luna stormed into her room, jumped on the bed and covered her head with a pillow. She felt like she made such a huge mistake letting Teotle stay with her and Jaden. Not only that, but she knew it was such a red flag that he knew Discord, and only heaven knows what Discord knows about Teotle. Little does she know, it’s not the same Discord she knows. Luna prepared a cup of chai tea and sat at her desk, pulling out a scroll and quill. She writes: Dear Sister, I have taken up a wolf whose name is Teotle, and he seems to know who Discord is. He also claims that Discord knows him. Upon questioning, he told me that Discord brought him here, though if he’s in his stone prison, that wouldn’t be possible. I seek your assistance and guidance in this matter, as this may cause unbalance amongst Equestria if this gets out of hand. Yours Truly, Luna She drops the letter onto her candle to be delivered to Celestia, and watches the ashes turn to nothingness. As it floats out the window, a blue light can be seen coming from the kitchen, and heard Jaden say something about a fire. Luna peeked the corner and saw Teotle performing his spell. Not only could she not believe her eyes, but she just about had enough of Teotle’s misconduct. As soon as the book went back into the bookshelf, Teotle smiled proudly as Jaden commented and clapped his hooves. Though Jaden stopped clapping when Luna came up behind him looking slightly irritated. “Teotle. I don’t know what in the name of my sister you think you were doing, but I’ve just about had it up to here with your shenanigans!” Teotle’s ears flattened once more and put his tail between his legs. “Since you know Discord, and you can use magic, I can only see you at this point as a mischievous cub!” Luna used her Royal Canterlot Voice as she said “You are to stay in the spare bedroom until I say you can come out!” Teotle slowly got up and walked towards the spare bedroom, but Jaden blocked him. Luna, already fed up with Teotle, was not in the mood. “Jaden, move.” Jaden stood his ground and, for the first time, protested his adoptive mother’s punishment for Teotle. “You’re wrong.” Luna stood back, and couldn’t believe that Jaden would defy her. “I believe I raised a proper colt, not an ignorant filly!” Luna told Jaden. He wasn’t hurt, but he responded with strength. “Well you raised me to be accepting of other ponies, and wolves, and all creatures and beings alike! You were the one to set examples for me, and taught me to never judge a book by it’s cover!” Jaden went over to Teotle and hugged him gently. “Teotle doesn’t have bad intentions, Woona. He just wants to explain what’s going on, and to find a new home.” Teotle hugged Jaden back and answered “thank you, Jaden.” Jaden looked back at Luna, stunned that her son was reminding her; she taught him good morals and values. Though all she did was judge Teotle by his actions, without realizing his intention. Luna took a deep breath forming tears. “I’m sorry, Jaden. I’m also especially sorry, Teotle.” Luna turned back to Jaden. “You’re right, Jaden. I jumped the gun and didn’t let myself take Teotle in. I’m not used to wolves, especially ones that use magic. I hope you can forgive me for my actions.” Jaden and Teotle look at each other and nod. They turn back and say in unison: “we forgive you.” Luna shed tears as they all went in for a group hug. Jaden looked up at Luna and asked “can he join our family?” Luna smiled and kissed Jaden and Teotle’s head. “Yes, Jaden. Yes he can.” > Chapter 5 – Family Forever > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once the snuggling was over, Luna sat everyone down for dinner. All be it that dinner was at seven in the morning, and that it seemed like breakfast, but no one complained. If anything, it gave Teotle an idea of how his father Shadowflame lived in his universe, once upon a thousand moons ago. Oh wait- “I made you both French toast sticks!” Luna smiled as Jaden stared at them. Teotle, however, takes extra precautions to make sure his eyes and nose weren’t deceiving him. He has seen Spike cook French toast before at the old library, but he had never seen it in the form of “sticks.” Luna looked at Teotle first. “Is something wrong with them?” She asked. “Nothing at all, it’s just I’ve never seen French toast look like… blocks. Or whatever you call them-“ “SHTICKS!” Jaden yelled with his mouth full. Luna did the courteous thing and gave Teotle 5 sticks on his plate and placed them in front of him. Jaden meanwhile, was attempting to set an Equestrian record of “Most French Toast Sticks Eaten in One Sitting.” Luna sits down at the table with her breakfast for dinner, and looks back at Teotle after telling Jaden to stop eating all the French toast sticks and to finish his milk. “So, erm, Teotle. What was that spell you happened to perform earlier.” Teotle ate his first stick and took a sip of orange juice, looking back at Luna. “It was a spell that Twilight taught me.” Luna swallowed some egg and started coughing at the comment, eventually drinking some water to wash it down. “So you know Twilight Sparkle?” Teotle nodded as Luna was quite intrigued. Out of nowhere, someone pounded on the door, yelling “Princess Luna you in there?” Luna got up from the table after using her napkin. “Coming!” Before she could get to the two doors, they almost flew open and guards swarmed the kitchen. “Seize that thing!” Yelled one of them, as Shining Armor grabbed Teotle, fighting him. “Shining Armor, it’s me! Teotle! What is everyone else doing here??” Shining Armor looks down at Teotle and grunts from Teotle’s resistance. “Am I supposed to know you?” Jaden ran and hid under his bed, as Luna was trying to get answers about the current situation. “Not here, but elsewh-” Suddenly, Princess Celestia entered the room and all suddenly became quiet. Teotle knew darn well not to speak when she did, and Jaden was just as nervous if not scared. “Let him go, Shining Armor.” The stallion refused to let go, adding “he’s a wolf, Princess! With all due respect, he’s dangerous!” “The only one in danger here is you if you don’t let me go!” Teotle grabbed Shining and wrapped his hind legs around him and slammed his head into the ground. Shining fought back with a punch to Teotle’s shoulder, and sent him several feet across the room. He yelped after hitting the wall, eventually getting back up. Teotle whimpered a little as he realized he dislocated his shoulder. “Shining Armor. Stop. Now.” Celestia’s horn began to spark. “Leave him be or suffer the consequences.” Shining, on edge from the blow to the head he received, sat down and huffed. “I’m not going to fight him.” Shining grabbed his head as it was throbbing with a massive amount of pain. “He used a move that I knew and taught. He just seems too strong.” Teotle relocates his shoulder, adding “I didn’t want to fight you anyways. Though Celestia jumping in was a step in the right direction.” Celestia walked over and stood above Shining Armor. As he looked up, Celestia looked down in disapproval. ‘Why did you hurt him?” She asked in a shaky and upset tone. Shining Armor hesitated, not knowing what to say. “Your majesty, in all due respect, he’s a wolf-” “I could care less if he was a hippogryph, a pegasus, or a wolf!” Celestia interjected. “He’s a creature of origin and he should be treated with kindness and respect… as any pony or creature should be!” The Princess began forming tears. “To think that you, the brother of my star pupil, would just hurt a wolf like that without even thinking of the outcome of your actions!” “Princess Celestia, I’m sorry-“ “I don’t want to hear that you’re sorry! I declare that you are relieved of your position for 2 full weeks! Give yourself some time to think about the crudeness you demonstrated today.” With that, Shining Armor took off his armor and walked out with most of the guards. Celestia, after blowing off some steam, saw a flash of light for several seconds before coming to her senses again. She looks down and says “it’s great to see you again, Teotle.” Teotle gets up and exchanges hugs with Celestia as he says “it’s great to see you too, auntie.” A loud thud could be heard coming from the guest bedroom as Celestia quickly turned her head. Luna gulped and began sweating, knowing she would have to prepare an elongated impromptu speech explaining everything. Celestia quietly opened the door and heard whimpering under the bed. Celestia got down on all fours and looked under the bed and spotted Jaden. He immediately jumped and hit his head on the bed frame, backing up. “Jaden, it’s fine. You can come out.” Jaden refused without hesitation. He heard the guards talk about a mare with fire as hot as napalm. She would engulf everything she knew in flames, and she looked just like Celestia. Jaden backed into the furthest corner of the room where Celestia couldn’t reach him, despite her long legs and her magic. Teotle sighed and went over to the bedroom. “Excuse me, auntie.” Teotle found a walking stick in Jaden’s closet and stood it up. He held the stick and rearranged the bed and the frame to make a small tent. He gestured Jaden to join him, in hopes that Jaden would speak up. Jaden was a little confused, but since he trusted Teotle, he dived into the tent laughing before Celestia could grab him. The filly and the cub happily played under the tent as Luna joined her sister. “So Luna, déjà vu?” Luna leaned on her sister and smiled. “Indeed so. It only seems like so long ago that I raised one of my own, but now I have one who will make Equestria a better place.” Celestia embraced Luna’s company. “So what’s his name?” Celestia asked. “Jaden, I believe he said. Jaden Mist.” “Sounds like a perfect name to me.” Celestia added. The noise in the tent had stopped for a few minutes, as the sisters had noticed. “What are they up to, I wonder?” Luna whispered as she peeked inside the fortress, blushing at what she saw. Celestia joined her, as they saw Jaden and Teotle cuddled together, fast asleep. Luna closed the cover as she walked into the living room with Celestia. “So you’re not upset with me?” Luna asked with embarrassment. Celestia giggled a little, lightening the mood. “If anything Luna, I’m proud of you. I’m so very proud of you.” > Chapter 6 – Wolves > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Teotle was sleeping soundly until he woke up from a thought he had. He was so busy with dinner and fighting that he completely forgot about Discord. Teotle’s initial thought was to summon Discord with his magic… although he did have to keep in mind that Luna and Jaden were still sleeping. Teotle hopped up and checked the time. It was about twelve o’clock in the afternoon. ‘Celestia should be having lunch right now.’ Teotle thought to himself. He quietly opened the bedroom door and went outside Luna’s quarters. Teotle went to Celestia’s room and knocked on the front door, as a guard answered the door. He politely smiled and let Teotle in. Celestia was eating a sandwich when she spotted Teotle entering. She smiled, finished chewing, and got up. As she exchanged hugs. Teotle looked up and asked “Do you have a minute to talk?” Celestia nodded and dismissed her guards, leaving her kitchen table to just her and Teotle. Celestia smiled and asked “so what can I help you with?” “Seeing as how I’m in this dimension, you know how I came from mine.” Celestia nodded. “Your Discord brought you here, did he not?” In response, Teotle nodded and replied “yes, he did. He went to hide before Luna and Jaden found me. After that, however, he hasn’t shown up.” Celestia nodded and took a drink of soda. “Seeing how young you’ve become, I take it Discord is back to his old self?” Teotle nodded. “He’s reformed, but I fear he still may be back in his stone prison. Problem being, I don’t know where he went to hide. With that, it’ll make it that much harder to find him. For all we know he could be anywhere.” Celestia nodded and lit her horn. “Stay close.” She teleported herself and Teotle to somewhere quite odd, but nonetheless quiet. Before them stood two statues of Discord, one of which was in his last remembered pose, while the other one was pointing with finger guns, winking and grinning. Not to mention he was wearing pixelated sunglasses. Celestia rolled her eyes in humor. “I think you know which one is yours.” She said as Teotle nodded. “Yeahhh I know that pose anywhere. The glasses too.” Teotle realized that to get Discord out of his stone prison, they needed the Elements of Harmony. “Do you think we should write to Twilight and the others? That look on his face is quite unsettling, if not filled to the brim with ‘XD’…” “What’s ‘xd?’” Celestia asked. “Please, for the love of all that is Holy, just don’t ask.” There was an awkward silence that filled the room, and Celestia broke the ice. “I’ll get ahold of Twilight and her friends.” “How soon can we get Twilight and her friends here to free him?” Teotle asked. “Well, a trip to Canterlot from Ponyville is an overnight ride by train, but you’re more than welcome to stay with Luna or I while they join us.” Teotle, not hearing Celestia tell Luna, was confused. “So you’re not mad at Luna for keeping me and Jaden?” “Not at all.” Celestia replied. “I’m proud that she’s putting in the effort to raise a filly. I’m sort of, proud of her, I guess.” She said as the princess blushed a little in embarrassment. “I’ll make some lunch. Do you like celery soup?” “Oh you bet!” Teotle exclaimed as he jumped up and down. “Spike, what else do we need from the list?” Twilight asked as she looked at some dragonfruit. “Hmmm, we have everything except for…” Spike trailed off as he was scrolling down the eight-foot list, making sure he wasn’t missing anything. Out of nowhere, he belched a huge green flame that had the radius of an incendiary grenade, and out came a letter. Twilight picked it up and opened it: Dear Twilight Sparkle, I hope you and everypony are doing well. My sister happened to run into a wolf today, and he claims he knows Discord, as well as you and your friends. The wolf, Teotle, claims that his Discord brought him here, and he needs you and your friends to turn him back to himself, out of stone. Requesting your attendance at Canterlot as soon as possible. Bring your friends, as well as Spike. Warm regards, Princess Celestia Spike, at his height, could only pick up on “wolf,” “Teotle,” “Discord,” and “Canterlot.“ Spike jumped in excitement as he nudged Twilight. “Are we going to Canterlot to meet a wolf named Teotle who knows Discord???” Twilight didn’t respond as Spike nudged her again. “C’mon, Twilight. This isn’t a time to be frozen still and think about that sandwich you threw out from last-“ “Ok, how did you remember that I threw that sandwich out? More importantly, this letter is not good news!” Twilight paused and sighed. “Yes, Spike, we’re going to Canterlot.” “Awesome! Who else is coming?” “The other girls, and the students, that’s it.” Spike became excited for a good reason, though Twilight didn’t see eye to eye with him. “Spike,” Twilight added. “Do you know the severity of what Princess Celestia wrote me??” Spike stopped celebrating and looked back up at Twilight. “Uhh, not really. I just picked up on ‘wolf,’ ‘Teotle,’ ‘Discord,’ and ‘Canterlot.’ Is there something I’m missing?” Twilight nodded. “Luna found a wolf, Spike! Wolves are known to be vicious creatures that can-” A small paper came from Spike as Twilight opened it. “Teotle is a wolf, but he’s not harmful. Very sweet if that. Regards, Celestia” There was a slightly wrinkled corner with a message that read” Hi Twilight!,” with a paw print that was placed next to it. An arrow pointed to the message, saying “that was Teotle.” “So,” Spike added after taking in the note, grinning. “What were you saying about wolves?” Twilight gritted her teeth and looked down. “Just… just get the Elements of Harmony… and Starlight… as well as the other girls.” Spike looked back at Twilight as he took a few steps away. “Aren’t you coming with me?” Twilight twitched her eye a little and followed Spike. “Dragons seem to know everything all of a sudden…” > Chapter 7 – A Message Home > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fluttershy yawned as she heard knocking on her door. She was oversleeping, on accident of course. She got out of bed, went downstairs, and opened the door. “Oh,” said Fluttershy after yawning “good morning, Derpy.” The mailmare shuffled through her bag, pulling out a letter. “I have a letter for Fluttershy from Princess Celestia and a… Teotle.” Derpy hands Fluttershy the letter and waves goodbye, en route to deliver a package to the wrong house. “Such a sweetheart.” Fluttershy commented. Fluttershy opened the letter with a butter knife and read it. Dearest Fluttershy, I request that you, the girls, Spike, and the students come to Canterlot by tomorrow afternoon. Luna and I have something to show you, and I believe you will like who it is. Best Wishes, Princess Celestia and Teotle There also appears to be a paint-stamped paw print underneath the signatures. “I wonder who this ‘Teotle’ is.” She told herself as she went outside to feed the chickens. Meanwhile, a young yak slept in. It was Saturday, a perfect reason to do so. Being a heavy sleeper, Yona didn’t hear the pounding of Prince Rutherford stomping into their home. That is, until the prince started hollering. “YONA!!! YOU HAVE LETTER FROM PONY!!!” Yona jumped up about two feet in the air and landed, taking the letter. “Thank you, father!” Yona ripped it open and read the letter, in fancy characters: Dear Yona, I am requesting that you join Twilight, her friends, Spike, and your fellow classmates to ride a train to Canterlot. It will arrive tomorrow afternoon, and I think you will enjoy meeting me. Sincerely, Teotle Just like Fluttershy, there was a red paint-stamped paw print underneath the letter. Yona had to read the letter several times, however, to comprehend all the words. “Yona not understand fancy letters! But Yona go tell papa about field trip!!!” She leaped out of bed, and bounced out of her house to find Prince Rutherford. “Is everypony ready for the train?” Twilight asked the girls who stood at the station, at roughly two o’clock in the morning. “I am, but I need my beauty rest, darling!” Rarity complained as she put down her excessive luggage. “You know I’m not this fabulous without my rest!” “Mare, please!” Applejack blurted out. “I barely got sleep last night because Applebloom was having nightmares!” “Darling, Applejack, you think all this was an accident?” Rarity argued. “Sure looks like it was with the way you’re acting…” “Hey everypony!” Rainbow Dash yelled to stop the fighting. “Here come the students!” Twilight looked in the distance and saw all of them: Ocellus, Silverstream, Smolder, Gallus, Sandbar, and Yona, along with their respective guardians. Except for Gallus, everypony knew about why his guardian didn’t show up. Every creature greeted each other warmly, as Seaspray was the first to speak up. “So, Princess Twilight, I believe you have set up some sort of field trip, is this correct?” “Yes, Seaspray. We are going to Canterlot as the train arrives in t-minus 2 minutes.” Thorax yawned and asked “our students are going to see the princess, and-,” but not before Prince Rutherford cut him off. “WHY WE HERE BEFORE NO SUN?!? YAKS LIKE SUN SO WE SEE!!!!” “Papa!” Yona quietly yelled, “I’m sure you can find home from here!” The prince nodded as Ember responded. “How long is this recreation/field trip going to be? And who was the pony Thorax was gonna mention?” “His name is Teotle. He’s a subject that we are to observe. Princess Celestia told me that he’s excited to meet you all.” Twilight replied, as Thorax finished with a quick “sounds reassuring.” “We will also be staying for the next three days. We will come back on Wednesday afternoon.” Twilight added. Soon enough, the train was pulling up to the station from a little way’s away. Every creature said goodbye to their guardians and got on the train. The conductor tried to stop them, but Twilight pulled out her tickets for all fourteen of them and gave them to him. “Thank you, Princess. I truly admire your work.” Twilight smiled and said thank you as everypony else loaded into the coach car. The students were in a premium suite, and the others were in the one next door. The creatures’ eyes glistened as they walked into something they’ve never seen before. There were six beds, each marked with their names, as well as a miniature fridge with some snacks inside. “Now Yona,” Gallus added as Yona was testing the beds by jumping on them. “This is going to sound strange, but you have to be careful around here, ok?” Yona settled on her mattress as Silverstream added “I heard this stuff in here can cost tons of bits if we break it!” Yona popped her head up from resting, pupils dilated. “Yona does not want to pay tons of bits!” Sandbar laughed a little. “Then don’t break anything, Yona. You silly yak!” Yona blushed a little, embarrassed. “Yona don’t think she is silly! All you are silly!” Every creature laughed and sat on their beds. Everyone wasn’t used to a bed, especially Silverstream, Smolder, and maybe Ocellus. Speaking of which, Smolder asked “when are we leaving?” Ocellus spoke up quietly and responded. “The nice man who helped us on the train told us the train departs at 2:15am.” “And what time is it now?” Ocellus checked the digital clock sitting literally right next to Smolder. “2:14am.” As Ocellus announced the time, a stallion voice came from the speakers in the ceiling. “Greetings and a warm welcome to Gallus the griffon, Ocellus the changeling, Sandbar the stallion, Silverstream the hippogriff, Smolder the dragon, and Yona the yak! My name is Jace, and I will be your pegasus conductor for the train ride. We will be taking a three stop, eight to nine hour trip to Canterlot, courtesy of this train, provided by Equestrian Elite Railways! Please get comfortable! There are snacks in the mini fridge provided, and some foods can be purchased upon request! As always, if you have a request, please feel free to hit the call button on the wall above the pantry. Once, again, thank you for choosing Equestrian Elite Railways. You creatures will be given a special guide to tour the beautiful trip to Canterlot, as well as a free blanket to keep warm during this chilly weather! My name is Jace, and thank you lastly for riding with us. The train will depart in several seconds.” Silverstream, not knowing what an overhead communication system was, clapped in amazement. “I didn’t even see him!” Every creature laughed as they felt a little movement below their feet. They all talked with each other, as the train departed the station, headed for Canterlot. > Chapter 8 – Pinkie Knows All > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was fairly brisk outside when the train reached Canterlot. Jace spoke over the intercom for the last time that morning: “Gooood morning every pony and every creature! We have arrived at Canterlot with no delays, thankfully. The time is 11:50 in the morning, and the weather is forecasted to be mildly cold with a high of 51 degrees, mostly sunny skies! The train door will open in just a minute, and before it does, I would like to thank you for riding with us once again, here at Equestrian Elite Railways! My name is Jace, and I hope you enjoy your stay at Canterlot!” Every creature yawned as the intercom woke them up from sleeping. Everyone was willing to bet that they passed out sleeping; mostly because waking up that early was no fun. Silverstream was the first to jump out of bed, cheerful from sleeping, but not so cheerful when she found herself sleeping on the counter, stomach up. “Who sleeps in a bed made of rock?” “I sleep on straw!” Said a familiar voice from her bed. Yona yawned and jumped out of bed, hitting the floor loudly. “Cheese and crepes!” Sandbar yelled as he “yote” himself out of bed, about five feet forward. Smolder yawned. “You guys always have to be so loud?” Meanwhile, Gallus woke up drooling and sleeping on the floor since about an hour after he fell asleep. Ocellus laughed a little, already up. “You must be a heavy sleeper!” She remarked. Gallus was bothered that he was never told why they went. Though in reality, he just forgot. “Why are we at Canterlot anyways?” He asked, scratching the matted feathers on his head. Silverstream was about to answer when Yona yelled “TO SEE TEOTLE, GALLUS!!!” Gallus jumped and hit the ceiling, unflattening the feathers on his head. “Yona, it’s only 11:50 in the morning. Please just cut me some slack.” Jace announced “doors opening, please stand back!” After several seconds, the doors opened to the sides, and Silverstream and Gallus flew out to embrace the cool air that morning. Every other creature, the mane seven, and Spike exited the train, with a coach worker holding their luggage. Twilight shivered a little, and put on her scarf… and her poker face. She clapped her hooves together in excitement. “I can’t wait to see Princess Celestia again! We haven’t seen each other in a while!” The walk to Canterlot Castle wasn’t all that bad, given the weather conditions. Gallus, Silverstream, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were flying as they normally would, while everyone else walked. Upon making it halfway, Twilight spots her brother Shining Armor and Princess Cadence trotting with Flurry Heart pulling on her father’s mane. Twilight waved and managed to get their attention, and they came over to everyone. “Hey Twi, haven’t seen you in a while.” Shining Armor said, while also looking like he binged tv for a whole 2 weeks. “Yeah, you look pretty tired.” Twilight noted, slightly concerned. “Nah,” her brother added “it’s just Flurry. She can be such a blessing but she drains your energy like crazy.” Cadence decided to chime in and break the ice. “So Twilight, why is everyone here on such a cool fall day?” Twilight smiled and replied “Princess Celestia has requested that we come to Canterlot Castle to study a subject of hers named Teotle. Spike seems to know who he is, although the name is vaguely familiar to me.” Just then, Shining Armor had a hair stick on end. He laughed nervously, adding “yeah, it’s just the foals.” Twilight looked up at her brother. “You should come with us!” Twilight remarked. “I’m sure he would be excited to meet you!” Shining Armor twitched his eye a little, rubbing the back of his head. “We already met…” Twilight’s eyes lit up. “You know who Teotle is??” The whole group at that moment stopped and turned to Shining Armor, waiting for an answer. “Well… yeah, I know him. However, Celestia and Luna told me I’m not allowed to leak any ‘details.’ You’ll have to go see for yourself.” A loud “awwwwww” could be heard coming from everyone, for they were extremely disappointed. Twilight rubbed against her brother. “Not even for your L.S.B.F.F.?” Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “He’s not a pony. That’s all I’m going to-” “He’s not a pony? Then what is he?” Cadence asked. “I said I’m not-” “OH COME ON!!!” Pinkie yelled. “What’s the worst he could be?? A magic-casting English-speaking canine with spooky eyes razor sharp teeth and a cutie mark-” Pinkie panted for a few seconds before continuing “all brought into this realm by another Discord that came with him from another alternate universe, like a dimension like ours but a few years in the past?????” Everyone blankly stared and tilted their heads. Shining Armor finally spoke up; “no comment…” Flurry began flying around like she did in the castle library. Oddly enough, she was headed towards Canterlot Castle, as Cadence attempted to intercept her. The moment before Cadence grabbed Flurry, she reached speeds of Mach 1 and ended up zipping by the guards, the Great Hall, the second and third doors, and landed into the throne room, hitting something charcoal black and furry. As the others rushed to the castle to figure out what just happened, Teotle saw Flurry, initially not knowing who she was, but realized shortly after his eyes stopped spinning that it was her and lifted her off his chest. Teotle chuckled “it’s certainly good to see you again, Flurry. Though what’s got you in such a hurry?” Teotle sat Flurry on his back, and started hopping up and down, making Flurry giggle. Celestia and Luna came into the throne room to see Teotle playing with Flurry. Luna smiled, adding “you see, sister. I told you they would get along.” Celestia smiled and rolled her eyes playfully. Seconds later, Cadence entered the throne room and saw Teotle playing with her daughter. “Well I’ll be shook,” Cadence added, staring in awe at Teotle. “Pinkie was pretty much right on the bit.”