Ding-dong, dang-dong, dong-dang, ding-dong.
The school bell rang, signalling the beginning of classes for the day to the students. The school building was an old medieval castle refurbished into a school. The classes one could follow at that school were standard: French, English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, etc.
But that was only the façade of the school. In some parts of the castle-school where students were not allowed, other kind of classes were given to specially selected students. Those students would have Elemental Magic, Magical Seals, Potions, Familiar Caretaking, etc. Yes, those specially selected students were studying to become magicians.
Very few students were selected for that 'underground' school. Most were selected because of the magical potential among the family. The very few that were not selected because of that had a huge magical potential not seen in their families.
Hurrying down a stone hallway lit by torches, a boy was looking left and right for the classroom. Eventually, after three minutes of running, he finally found it and opened the door on a very pissed teacher.
"It is impolite to be late, young man. I hope you won't do this again." The teacher, a woman in her late forties, scolded the boy.
"Sorry, I overslept." The boy replied with a sheepish grin and a scratch of the back of his head.
"Jake Mills, I presume." The teacher said, earning a nod from the boy.
The boy, whose name was Jake Mills, walked in the classroom, looking for a place to sit. He was quite tall, probably six feet two inches tall. He had blue-grey eyes, somewhat long, for a boy at least, black hair and pale skin. On his right ear was a black metal earring. He was wearing a green jacket over a grey t-shirt, a blue denim jeans held in place by a white belt and black sneakers.
Eventually, Jake found a seat. However, and to his disappointment, the seat was in the front row, right in front of the teacher's desk. He sat down, and looked at his neighbour. She looked back, then turned her head away in a 'hmpf' gesture.
"I see we have very few new students." The teacher said.
Jake looked around the classroom. In total, including himself, there were eight students, five boys and three girls. And everyone but him seemed to be European.
"Alright then. I am Miss Wright, and I will teach you Elemental Magic."
"You mean, like fire and all?" One of the boys asked from his seat in the back of the classroom.
"Yes, that." Miss Wright replied in a slightly annoyed tone.
Jake let out a sigh. 'Just my luck... I'm stuck in Europe for three freackin' years to study magic, and I have no hot chick in my class. Better snooze than lose...' He thought. He closed his eyes, and faked to be attentive up until the end of the class.
... ... ... ...
At the end of the day, Jake was exhausted. He was slowly walking back to his room in one of the boys dormitories. In his head, he was reviewing what he managed to catch about magic from his classes.
From his Elemental Magic class, he learned that Elemental magic uses five base elements from two classes: Water, Fire, Earth and Air from the Light class, and Shadow from the Darkness class.
From his Magical Seals class, he learned summoning seals and protective seals.
From his Potion class, he learned that common herbs all had different magical properties.
From his Combat class (similar to physical education class), he learned absolutely nothing as the teacher babbled about nonsense during the entire class.
Jake walking in the dorm building, going straight for the stairs. He climbed to the third floor, where he walked down a hallway to his room. Fortunately for him, he was alone in his room. He opened the door and walked in, throwing his backpack on his bed. He closed the door and sat down at his laptop sitting on a desk. He powered the laptop, and opened a videochat with his older brother who was still living on the familial farm back in his native Wisconsin.
Jake waited a few minutes for the connection to establish itself. Once it was established, he sent an invite to his brother for a videochat. The response was immediate, and Jake opened his laptop's built-in webcam. He then opened the conversation box. In the webcam feed window, down in the right corner, was his face, but he didn't notice that. What he noticed was the girl smiling at him.
"Jake! I'm so glad to see you!" The girl said.
The sounds came through the speakers of the laptop, the video feed moving a second or so later. 'Damn delay...' Jake thought. The girl on the other side of the feed was a young-looking girl, about fifteen or sixteen of age. She had red hair and blue-grey eyes.
"Hey, sis. Where Brian?" Jake said.
"He's out." The girl replied.
Just then, Jake heard a door opening coming from the speakers. After a few seconds, a voice he knew too well spoke.
"What's going on, Lydie?" A male voice asked.
Then, a man in his mid-twenties came in view in the video feed. He had black hair and green eyes.
"Nothing, Brian!" The girl asnwered the man.
"Brian's out, huh Lydie?" Jake asked, a smug grin on his face.
"So you called, huh?" Brian asked Jake.
"I'm glad to see you too, bro." Jake replied.
"Lydia, why did you... Nevermind. So, Jake, how's it going?" Brian asked.
Jake then explained how he was doing, being so far away from Wisconsin and his family. He also told his siblings what he had learned in class.
"I'm glad for you, Jake. I hope mom and dad will be as thrilled as me to see you gain control of your powers." Lydia, or Lydie, said once Jake was done.
"Lydie, remember that our family doesn't have any history in magic." Jake said. "I doubt they'll even care about me."
"Don't say that. See ya." Brian said.
"See ya. Take care." Jake added before closing the videochat.
Jake then looked at his alarm clock. It showed 10:26 PM. He got up and stretched his arms.
"Alright. Tonight, I go to bed early, and I don't freackin' close my alarm clock when it rings." Jake said before preparing himself for the night.
The next morning was a perfect copy of the previous day regarding waking up and arriving in class late.
"Sorry. Won't happen again." Jake said as he walked in the classroom.
"Hope so. Like I was saying before being interrupted," The teacher said, glaring at Jake who sat down in the second row. "I will teach you how to summon and take care of familiars. But before we start, I must warn you that not all magicians can summon familiars, and those who can summon multiple familiars and never the same are called Summoners or Tamers."
Then, someone knocked on the door. The teacher, a man in his early twenties, got up from his desk (yes, he was sitting on his desk) and went to the door. He opened it, talked with the person who knocked and came back in.
"Okay. Seems like we have one more student. She's from Japan, but she lived in England for a few years, and one of her parent was a westerner like us. You can come in, Miss Farnsworth."
A girl then walked in. She had long, brown and blonde two-tone hair and brown eyes. She was quite tall, somewhere in the five feet six inches and over, but not above six feet. She was wearing a long beige trench coat, a black fedora and pink shades. She bowed slightly when she reached the teacher.
"Kon'nichiwa. My name is Naomi Farnsworth." The girl said to the class.
'Damn, she's hot...' Jake thought while he observed Naomi. She then sat down beside Jake, causing him to jump a little.
"For our newcomer, I am Mister Baaning. Where was I?" The teacher said. "Ah, yes. Summoning your familiar. I think you saw summoning seals yesterday, right?"
All the students but Jake, who was daydreaming while looking at Naomi, and Naomi nodded.
"Good. Push the tables and the benches away against the walls to clear an area."
It took a few minutes to push the tables and the benches away to create a big enough area. Everyone but Naomi helped. She stood there, looking at the others with nervous glances. Jake looked at her while he moved a table. He then saw something move under the girl's trench coat. 'What the... Is it me or did something moved under her trench coat?' Jake thought.
"Alright, that's big enough." Mister Baaning said once he was satisfied with the area size.
He took a chalk and began to draw a big summoning seal on the ground. When he was over, he took something from his pocket.
"I will give you papers with a summoning seal on." He said as he passed a paper to each student. "I am pretty sure you all know a thing or two about summoning rituals. For example, it is common knowledge that you need to offer something, usually blood, to summon something. Another widely known fact is that you need to chant something to summon a creature, and the creature summoned depends on what you said. Let me show you how it is done."
Mister Baaning took a knife and cut his palm, causing blood to drip on the seal.
"To summon a familiar, you need to put some of your blood on the summoning seal, then say whatever comes to your mind. Note that two persons can say the exact same thing and end up with different familiars. This is because of each individual's personality."
The teacher then began to chant something, and soon, a light was emitted from the seal. When it faded away, a black lizard the size of an average dog stood in the middle of the seal. It had small bat-like wings which it flapped, taking off. It landed on the teacher's shoulder.
"That is how you summon a familiar. What is summoned also depends on where you are from. Now your turn. Put some blood on the seal on the paper I passed out and say what comes to your mind."
One after the other, the students tried to summon a familiar. The first four students to try summoning a familiar all failed. The next two students managed to summon one each, but they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke after a few seconds.
"Also, if you do not have the energy pool, your familiar will disappear. And you must keep a strong will or your familiar will turn back on you and attack you. Miss La Rochelle, your turn." Mister Baaning said.
The girl beside whom he sat the first day in the first class nodded. She had shoulder-length pale brown hair and blue eyes. She took a needle from her pocket and stabbed her finger, drawing a bead of blood. She pressed her bloodied finger on the seal and then sliding it, leaving a line of blood. She began to chant in French.
"J'invoque la puissance du feu. J'ordonne aux êtres de cette puissance de m'obéir et d'apparaître devant moi."
As the girl finished her chant, the papers, because she apparently put blood on two sheets instead of one, began to glow softly, and two creatures appeared in front of her. The two small creatures hovered there, looking at the girl who summoned them with their small black eyes. The creatures seemed to be made of fire, and the two creatures each had a colour. One was green and the other was blue.
"Wisps... Not bad... You probably can summon more, but I'll test that later. Mister Mills, your turn."
Jake took a deep breath. He then bit one of his fingers until he tasted blood. Then, he applied some on one seal, then closed his eyes and began to chant.
"I call forth the powers of, huh... Wisconsin and I order, um... Whatever creature to come?" Jake said, unsure of what to say.
Jake opened his eyes and waited, but nothing happened. Then, without warning, a sphere of fire appeared in front of Jake, and out of the sphere flew a majestic pheonix. It landed on Jake's shoulder.
"Not bad. Summoning a pheonix on your first try, with random words, and surviving it... I must say that I am impressed." The teacher said, causing the students to laugh at Jake for his mediocre attempt. "Miss Farnsworth."
Naomi nodded. She bit herself until she bled, she put some of the blood on the seal, then she began to chant.
"Watashi wa kitsune no senzo o yobidasu. Watashi jishin to shite no hogo-sha no izureka o shoukan suru tame ni watashi ni chikara o ataemasu."
The paper glew for a few seconds, then a two-tailed brown fox appeared in front of Naomi.
"A fox, huh? You definitely knew what you wanted, right?" The teacher asked.
Naomi nodded. The teacher opened his mouth to say something, but the bell prevented him to.
"Alright, then. See you next time. And to cancel the summoning, just destroy the seal."
The students left the room to go to their next class. On the way there, Jake went to Naomi to talk a little.
"Hey, Naomi. I'm Jake Mills."
Naomi did not answer.
"So... How old are you?"
Still no answer.
"Come on, say something!"
"She does not have to talk to you if she doesn't want to. I am Émilie La Rochelle, by the way."
Émilie's wisps were hovering over her shoulders, one above each.
"'Kay..." Jake said, then he realised they had reached the classroom.
All the students walked in and took a seat. Jake sat in the second row, and Naomi took a seat next to him. They waited for the teacher to come, but they eventually, they got bored. Two of the boys got up and they went to Naomi.
"So, Naomi... Why are you wearing a fedora inside?" One of them asked.
"Because it is none of your businness." She answered.
The other boy smirk.
"Are you hiding something under it?" He asked.
Before Naomi could reply, the first boy grabbed Naomi's fedora, revealing brown wolf's or fox's ears with blonde tips on the top of Naomi's head.
"What the..?" The second boy asked before grabbing Naomi's trench coat.
She tried to grab her fedora back, but by doing so, her trench coat opened, and the boy who grabbed it tugged on it, revealing Naomi had a brown tail with a blonde tip.
"Give me my things back..." Naomi ordered the boys.
Just then, the teacher entered the classroom.
"Sorry for the delay. So let's start immediately. Welcome to the Magical and Mystical Creatures class. My name is Seiji Fujiwara, and I am your teacher."
He looked around the classroom until he saw the two boys holding Naomi's things. He frowned.
"Sirs, I will asked you to give the Miss her things."
The boys did as they were told and went back to their seats.
"Good. I had planned to start with European creatures, but, seeing as we have a fellow Japanese, for me that is, I will start with Japanese creatures. First up, Kitsune, which is Japanese for 'fox'." The teacher said as he began to write things on the blackboard. "Folklore says that Kitsune are demons that can take the form of humans. Of course, it is only partly true. Kitsune are not demons, but mystical creatures. And there are two kinds of Kitsune, if I may say so. What I call the 'animal' Kitsune and what I call the 'human' Kitsune. Kitsune are mischievious and are masters of deception."
Jake stopped following what Mister Fujiwara was saying. Instead, he was looking at Naomi, who was visibly uncomfortable with her ears and tail exposed. Mister Fujiwara went on and on about Kitsune for the entire class. When the bell rang, he was still talking. The students left the classroom to go and eat their lunch.
Jake, his pheonix still on the shoulder, was slowly walking in the stone hallways towards the cafeteria. He was then joined by Émilie and her two wisps.
"Are you going to eat alone?" She asked.
"Why would you care? I'm just American." Jake said sarcastically.
"Listen. I may hate Americans, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends. I just wanted to be friendly."
"Fine." Jake said after several seconds of thought.
"Can I join you? If you don't mind that a Kitsune who lied to everyone about what she really was joins you." Naomi asked.
"FYI, you didn't lie. You just didn't say anything, which is hardly a lie." Jake said. "So, yeah, you can join us."
Naomi smiled, and Émilie nodded to show her approval. Then, Naomi's two-tailed fox jumped on her shoulder and seemed to say something to Naomi, although no sound could be heard. After a few seconds, Naomi spoke.
"He would like to know your familiars' names." She pointed at the two-tailed fox on her shoulder.
Émilie and Jake both thought for several minutes. Neither of them knew their familiar's gender. Then, Jake let out a sigh.
"I'd love to say what my familiar's name is, but I have no idea what gender is my pheonix."
"Same thing here for my wisps." Émilie added.
The two-tailed fox seemed to talk to Naomi again.
"According to Satoshi, my familiar, the pheonix is female, the blue wisp is male and the green wisp is female." Naomi said.
Émilie and Jake both began to think up names for their familiars. Émilie was the first to come up with names.
"The blue one will be Pyrrhus and he green one Kenna." Émilie said.
"What about your familiar's name, Jake?" Naomi asked.
"I have no idea. I can only think about my family. One day, we did a road trip, and we ended in some sort of Native American museum about the Cheyenne. I was bored that day, and I learned nothing... Except a single name, Kiwidinok... If I remember correctly, it means something like 'of the wind'... Like how my familiar kinda is from the wind... How about Kiwidinok?"
The pheonix on Jake's shoulder let out a happy chirp while flapping her wings.
"Now that you named your familiars, you are one step closer to befriend them and make them your guardians." Naomi said. "And it looks like we are at the cafeteria already."
Just as Naomi said that, Émilie and Jake looked through the doorway of the cafeteria. There were people in it, but something was off.
"Everyone's asleep." Jake said as he went to one of the motionless bodies.
"I do not like this." Émilie said, putting her back against a wall.
Then, Naomi's ears flapped the air. She promptly turned around to face a figure clad in black. The figure lifted a hand towards Naomi. Naomi's ears flattened against her skull, and her tail fur stood up. She growled at the figure, waiting. Naomi's growl caught the attention of both Émilie and Jake. Satoshi was also growling, waiting beside Naomi's leg.
"What the hell is going on?!" Jake asked.
Kiwidinok then chirped angrily, glaring at the figure. Émilie's wisps both grew in size, also glaring at the figure.
"Who are you?" Naomi asked, her teeth more pointy than normal teeth, similar to fangs.
"My name is of no importance, as you will all die this instant." The figure said in a genderless, ageless voice.
Black fog began to gather in the figure's hand facing Naomi. Suddenly, the lights around the three students and their familiars began to fade into nothingness. Then, a wave of energy shot out of the figure's hand, making the familiars temporarily black out. Then, the figure let the energy that gathered in his hand free, hitting the three students and knocking them out.
The figure levitated the three bodies and placed them side by side in front of him. The figure began charging his final attack, and let it free once it reached the peak of its power. The attack hit the three unconscious students, leaving a permanent mark in the flesh of their body. Then, the energy was dissipated by a sphere of light. The figure quickly spun around to face the person who interrupted.
"Mister Sigurd Baaning, how thoughtful of you to pay me a visit." The figure said.
"Let them go. Now." Sigurd said.
Sigurd's familiar jumped to the ground, and light began to emit from the reptilian creature's mouth. The figure lowered his hand and vanished in a cloud of black smoke. The three students slowly woke up. Naomi was the first to be awake. She looked around until she found her familiar.
"Satoshi." She said weakly as she crawled to the unconscious form of the two-tailed fox.
Jake then opened his eyes. He sat up and stretched his arms.
"What the hell happened?" He asked.
"You were attacked and marked. And I saved you." Sigurd explained as he picked Kiwidinok up and brought her to Jake.
Pyrrhus and Kenna woke up before Émilie. They went to her side and waited until she woke up. As Émilie woke up, several Mages came in the cafeteria. Sigurd looked at the three students.
"Listen. I was appointed by the school's board as your guardian. It is my duty to protect the three of you. However, it might be harder. This is why you will be moving to a remote location with me as your teacher. And you will all be examined before we leave." He said.
... ... ... ...
Three days after the attack on Naomi Farnsworth, Jake Mills and Émilie La Rochelle, the three students, with their familiars, were now hiding in a forest a few kilometres away from the school. Their assigned teacher and protector, Sigurd Baaning, had them examined for any magical taint. They were all clear, but something wasn't right in the mind of Sigurd.
Jake was sitting on his bed, Kiwidinok in front of him. He was trying to give her orders, to no avail. Someone then knocked on his door. Jake got up and opened the door. Émilie walked in, her two wisps following her. She went to the middle of the room, then she spun around and faced a confused Jake.
"Something is wrong. I heard voices." She said.
"Calm down." Jake said.
"I am calm!" Émilie said.
She then grabbed her head in her hands.
"Again with the voices."
Kiwidinok let out an amused chirp similar to a laugh.
Looks like Émilie developped a mental link with her fiery friends... A female voice said in Jake's head.
Jake almost fell down on the ground. He looked around, and his gaze fell on Kiwidinok who was staring at him with amusement in her eyes.
"Kiwi?" Jake asked the phoenix.
The phoenix rolled her eyes.
Yes, you moron. And please stop calling me 'Kiwi'. It makes me feel like a wingless bird. The female voice resonated in Jake's head again.
Jake looked at the panicked Émilie.
"The voices are your familiars'." Jake told her.
That seemed to calm the girl down.
"It seems like the two of you finally developped the mental link with your familiars." A familiar female voice said from the door. "I have mine ever since I was ten."
Jake looked at Naomi. The girl walked in the room, Satoshi on her heels, and she sat down on the only chiar in the room.
"And eventually, you will be able to hear other familiar as well." Naomi added.
"That is correct, Miss Farnsworth." Sigurd said from the door. "But you should all rest. We will resume your studies tomorrow."
Sigurd then walked away.
"Something's been bothering me for a while now. Why were we attacked?" Jake said.
All he got for answers were two girl shrugging.
... ... ... ...
In a dark cave somewhere in the French Alps, a figure clad in black was kneeling in front of a wall. Then, black fog appeared around the figure.
"I am sorry, Master. I was not able to kill the three humans like you asked." The figure said. "Please give me a second chance, Master Sombra."
"I cannot allow any of my servants to fail. But, I feel generous today, and I will let you live. But fail one more time, and I shall kill you." The black fog said.
"Yes, Master."
"For now, the three human children can wait. I need you to finish the transportation/summoning seal." Sombra ordered.
"Yes, Master." The figure said before leaving.
"Soon, Twilight Sparkle and her friends will be at my mercy in this world. And nothing shall stand in my path to conquer both this world and Equestria." Sombra said as he began to cackle madly.
... ... ... ...
Twilight was reading a book under a tree in the park when she felt a chill run down her spine. She looked around her, but she saw nothing. She then shrugged and resumed reading her book, oblivious of the seal glowing on the book she was reading.
... ... ... ...
Jake fell on his back, exhausted. It had been three weeks since the attack, and the training Naomi, Émilie and Jake were undergoing was hard. However, all three had progressed a lot. Jake was taking deep breaths when Naomi fell to her knees beside Jake. She, too, was exhausted. Émilie stopped beside Naomi and leaned forward, putting her hands on her knees.
"Come on, you three. Three more laps." Sigurd said.
In a nearby tree, a two-tailed fox, a pheonix and two wisps were observing the students.
"Why aren't our familiars doing this too?" Émilie asked.
"Because they don't need it. Now, RUN!" Sigurd said.
All three students jumped at their teacher's yell, getting up and running around the makeshift track. Three laps later, the three students were on their backs on the groud, exhausted and taking deep breaths.
"Good. Take a break, and in twenty minutes, we will continue with Magical and Mystical Creatures class." Sigurd said.
The four familiars left the tree and went to their young masters.
Good work, Jake! You did well. Kiwidinok said.
For a human, I found him quite slow. Satoshi added.
Smartass. Kiwidinok muttered.
Jake glared at Naomi's familiar. All three students were now able to hear other familiars as well as their own. Naomi sat down, wiping sweat away from her forehead.
"We all did well, Sato, so leave Jake alone." She said.
The two-tailed fox rolled his eyes, but nodded nonetheless. Kiwidinok snickered, earning a glare from Satoshi. Émilie sat down as well.
"Seriously, Naomi. You and Jake would make a great couple." She said, causing both Naomi and Jake to blush, the latter sitting up.
Naomi and Jake then began to argue that it was not true, but they did so at the same time, causing Émilie to chuckle. Naomi and Jake stopped, and Naomi's ears drooped. Émilie saw that and moved to comfort the fox girl. However, when she was close enough, she saw a small smile on the face of the fox girl.
"Gotcha." Naomi said in hushed tone.
Émilie looked up and saw a sphere of water the size of her head. It dropped on her, drenching her. Naomi and Jake both laughed.
"This is not funny!" The French girl said.
"Not my problem." Naomi replied, sticking her tongue out at Émilie at the end of her sentence.
Émilie growled, and tried to grab Naomi's arm, only to fall face first. Naomi had jumped up in a tree, and was laughing at the French girl's expense.
"Quand je vais t'attraper, tu vas découvrir une autre facette de ma personnalité, Naomi! [When I catch you, you will discover another part of my personality, Naomi!]"
Naomi made the common talking gesture with her hand while Émilie talked, clearly not listening.
"Girls, calm down." Jake said, only to receive a punch in the guts from Émilie and water from Naomi.
Kiwidinok let out a laughing chirp. Then, Sigurd came for then, running. He came to a sliding halt, out of breath and kicking up a small cloud of dust as he did. After a few seconds, once his breath was back under his control, Sigurd spoke to the three teenagers.
"You need to go back to the school."
All three teenagers, and their familiars, looked confused.
"But... Why?" Naomi asked as she jumped down from the tree she was in.
"I don't know. But I was given clear orders to bring you three back to the school pronto." Sigurd's voice sounded deeper than usual.
The three teenagers looked at each other before going back to their respective rooms to gather their stuff.
... ... ... ...
"The preperations are going smoothly, Princess." A grey Earth pony said.
"Good." Twilight answered before looking out the window of her room in her castle.
In the distance, she could clearly make out the outline of Ponyville's buildings, and the several Pegasi working around. The Earth pony then cleared his throat.
"Oh. Keep me informed of the progress. Thanks."
The Earth pony bowed and took his leave, leaving Twilight alone with her thoughts. She looked around her room and the pictures of her, her friends and her family. She still could not believe how long it had been since she first set hoof in Ponyville, decided to take care of Nightmare Moon all by herself. She now knew how foolish it was, but she had to admit that she was still quite young, barely eighteen years old when she first met her friends.
Twilight smiled softly at the memories of her first year in Ponyville, and the events that led her to becoming Equestria's fourth Princess. A tear then rolled down her cheek, making her facial fur wet and sticky. It was a time long gone, and she knew she could do nothing about it. It had been seven years since she first came to Ponyville. Seven years filled with happiness and joy. Until recently.
Celestia already had told her about it, but she didn't think it would happen to her. At least not now. A few months earlier, Applejack caught a disease that almost killed her. Fortunately, she survived, but she no longer was the same. The disease had taken Applejack's hind legs and left the poor orange Earth pony with difficulties moving around.
Twilight shut her eyes tight to prevent the tears from falling. She was an Alicorn, and despite the fact that, just like Cadance, she was an artificially created Alicorn, she would still be immortal. The five and a half years after Tirek's attempt to conquer Equestria gave Twilight a taste of what it was like for Celestia and Luna, and it made her angry. And jealous. Angry at her former mentor to have given her Starswirl's final spell to complete. And jealous of her friends. Of their mortality.
Twilight shook her head, pushing away the feelings that, long ago, drove Luna to madness. The Summer Sun Celebration was almost upon them, and she was to sit at the ceremony with Cadance, Celestia and Luna. Twilight took a deep breath, and let it out in the way Cadance taught her. Once she had calmed herself down, she composed herself a smile, and walked out of her room to go check on the final preperations.
... ... ... ...
"THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! YOUR CONDUCT IS NOT WORTHY OF OUR ORDER!" A man wearing a hood over his features yelled at the woman standing in front of him in a shower of light.
"You must understand that no matter where they are, our enemies will always find them. It is all the wiser to keep them in the school where they can be monitored at all times." The woman, who was wearing a grey suit, said to the man and the other council members present in the cold and dark, except for where she was standing, stone room.
"She has a valid point. We cannot afford to lose them." A woman sitting several seats to the left of the man said.
The man, who was clearly the head of the council, stayed silent for several minutes, thinking everything through. Then, he finally spoke his mind.
"Fine. But you must assure the council that an incident similar to the last won't happen again."
The woman standing in the light nodded and bowed before leaving the council chamber. It was a bold move she just made, but it was all worth it. It would allow her to not only keep an eye out for her son, but she would also be able to right the wrongs she did so many years ago.
... ... ... ...
Jake looked around the room he was in with Naomi and Émilie. He looked more like a dungeon cell than an office. But the desk and chairs told otherwise. Then, at long last, the headmaster of the school walked in. She was quite tall, and her pale skin showed no signs of age at all, looking like baby skin. She had cold-looking brown eyes, and long, straight kidney-length black hair that, under certain lightings, looked dark blue. She wore a grey vest over a red blouse with a matching grey, knee-length skirt. She had black high heels.
She slowly walked to her desk, her high heels clapping against the hard stone floor and making a rythmic sound. She sat down and crossed her hands on her desk.
"I am glad you could all make it." She said.
The three teenagers stayed silent. The three of them were glaring at the headmaster.
"There is no need to be hostile towards me. I am your friend." She added, but it had the opposite effect of what she hoped to achieve.
"Yeah. We get sent away from her at the beginning of the year, and several months later, you suddenly decide to get us back here." Jake said, irritated.
"Getting you away from the school wasn't my doing." She said. "I only obeyed orders given to me."
She let out a sigh.
"Excuse me if it is inconvenient for you, but I have my reasons for getting you back here." She said before getting up and turning her back to the three teenagers. "You see, the Summer Solstice his nearly upon us, and usually, it is during that day that the veil between universes is the thinnest."
"And what does that have to do with us?" Émilie asked.
"Our world doesn't normally have magic. In ancient times, rituals during solstices and equinoxes renewed the magical energies of specific points all over the globe." The headmaster explained. "And over the years, those rituals became unnecessary as some humans began to create their own magical energy. However, thirty years ago, someone tried to do a ritual to renew the magical energies. Instead of succeeding, that person only managed to rip the veil between our universe and another one."
"What happened?" Naomi asked.
The headmaster turned around to face the three teenagers.
"Creatures from another universes crossed into ours. Fortunately, they were fleeing their world and they only wanted to be accepted." She continued. "Those creatures were the Kitsune, and only those with magical abilities could see their difference. At the same time, a prophecy was discovered. It said that a great plague would wipe out mankind. That 'dark plague' was to start with a ritual on a solstice, and would bring beings of another world into ours. But those beings would not be visibly different from humans."
Jake got up and went for the door.
"I'm outta here." He said.
Suddenly, a stone block rose from the ground, blocking Jake's path.
"The prophecy also says that an evil will corrupt three friends, and cause another evil to rise." The headmaster said. "Please, Jake, listen to my warning. No matter what you do, do not let your emotions control your actions."
Silence fell in the room like a bomb. Jake had his fists clenched so hard his knuckles were white. Tears were rolling down his face.
"You do not know me. So you can keep your warning for yourself." Jake said dryly after several minutes of silence.
The block of stone went back in the ground, and Jake left the office, slamming the door shut behind him.
... ... ... ...
Hatred and Jealousy can turn even the most saint of man into a monster.
Power attracts power, and any man wants more power than he already posess.
... ... ... ...
In the cave of the French Alps, just before dawn, a hooded figure stood by a gigantic transportation/summoning seal painted on the ground of the cave. The figure drew away the hood, revealing a young-looking face with cold, red eyes. The person had shoulder-length black hair, and pale skin.
Dark fog began to gather by the person's side until a vaguely human form was visible.
"Are you alright?" Sombra asked.
"Yes, Master. I am only waiting for the sun to rise." The ageless, genderless voice of the person answered. The voice was also emotionless.
"You need to rest." Sombra said tenderly.
"No. You cannot perfom the ritual." The person said.
"You never spoke against me once. You've changed." Sombra said.
"I will take care of those who attacked you personally." The person said, anger clearly present in the person's tone.
"You need to rest NOW!" Sombra said, slowly getting impatient.
"NO! I will not rest until I can feel the blood of Twilight Sparkle on my hands!"
"ENOUGH!"
"I won't stop until I avenged you, Father!"
Sombra became silent ror a few seconds.
"You never called me 'Father' before." Sombra said. "I am happy you said that, my dear daughter."
... ... ... ...
Twilight was not anxious to be sitting on the stage. She was actually bored. All her friends, including Applejack, were in the front row. Cadance was sitting beside Twilight, and she was as excited as a filly. The sun was about to be raised and the moon lowered, and Twilight couldn't help but feel that something was odd.
Luna and Celestia then walked up on the stage under the tunderous applause of the ponies present. Luna's horn began to glow, and the moon slowly lowered in the sky until it completely sank beyond the horizon. At the same time, Celestia's horn glowed as well, and the sky lit up with colours as the sun slowly gave its golden light to Equestria.
As Celestia's horn gradually stopped glowing, everypony was cheering for the Princesses. Luna walked to the front of the stage to began her speech, but was interrupted even before moving by the darkening sky. And as the sky became black, the clouds gained the tint of blood.
"What's going on?" Somepony from the audience asked.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew and howled. The ponies were beginning to panic, and Celestia's voice was barely audible over the howling wind. Then, a golden light shone from under Twilight, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not move. Similar golden lights appeared under each of Twilight's friends with the same result as with Twilight.
As the light vradually darkened, one could make out golden circles under the six former Element bearers. Celestia was about to shoot a beam of magic at the circle under Twilight when the golden light emitted by the circles shone brighter than before, blinding everypony. The last thing Twilight remembered was the sensation of falling without really falling. She then blacked out.
... ... ... ...
Jake was sitting on the school's roof, looking at the golden sunrise. What the headmaster had said to him remembered him too much of his father whom he hated for not saving his mother.
"Can I sit with you?" Naomi's voice said from behind Jake.
Jake jumped at the suddenness of the voice and turned to look at the Kitsune. He slowly nodded and went back to admiring the sunrise. Naomi sat down beside him.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Naomi said. "I remember the times when, back in Tokyo, my mom and dad would wake me up before sunrise only to take me to the top of the building to watch the sunrise."
Jake only muttered, too deep in his thoughts to even hear Naomi. The girl's ears drooped, but shot back up again as an idea crossed her mind. She smirked and invoked a small cloud over Jake's head. She then made it rain on Jake, which caused the boy to growl. However, as he heard Naomi's clear laughter, he stopped growling and smiled, his spirits lifted again.
"Thanks." He said.
"You're welcome!" Naomi answered happily.
Then, something brighter than the golden sunlight caught both teenagers attention. It looked like a meteorite, and seemed to be headed somewhere in the region. But soon enough, what appeared as one object turned out to be six objects, each headed the same way. Straight for the roof where Naomi and Jake where.
As they both realised this and tried to make a run for it, a golden light blinded them, thus preventing their escape. When the light died down, they both found out, much to their relief, that they were still alive. When they looked around for what was coming towards them, they found six naked girls of about twenty-five years of age lying on the roof, completely unconscious.
Naomi was the first to snap back to reality, and she immediately went to get Sigurd and the headmaster. Jake stood there, unable to move a muscle. Despite all his efforts, he could not look away from the naked bodies of the girls.
Each girl had a body that seemed too perfect to be from this world, and they all had breasts bigger than average, even for the one with the smallest breasts, who also had pale pink hair.
After what seemed to Jake like an eternity, Sigurd and the headmaster finally arrived with Naomi and medics. The medics immediately went to the six girls, covering their naked bodies with blankets. In groups of two, they lifted each girl and brought them to the infirmary. Jake and Naomi, as well as Sigurd and the headmaster, followed the medics to the infirmary.
... ... ... ...
As the golden light faded, the girl that worked for Sombra opened her eyes. The ritual was complete, and the six targets had been brought to this world. She slowly went back inside the cave where she lived with Sombra.
Inside the cave, standing in the middle of the seal, was a tall man with shoulder-plates-length black hair, pale skin and red eyes. He was completely naked, but he was smiling at the girl who had an apparent blush on her face. She was looking at the man's genitals, which made the man laugh.
"You shouldn't do that." Sombra said teasingly.
The girl's face became bright red and she turned around.
"Sorry, Father."
"The ritual worked better than I hoped. Not only did it bring those who defeated me, but it also gave me enough power to materialize with a body of flesh and blood." Sombra said as his left hand became engulfed in a red aura. "But I can't use my former magic for now."
Sombra had materialized clothes on him, as well as a knife. He took the knife in his right hand, and cut his left palm, grunting and moaning with pain as he did so. Blood spilled out of the fresh cut, and he licked some of it, wincing as his tongue passed over the fresh wound.
The girl turned around again, and went to Sombra. He smiled at her, and brought his cut palm above her head. She tilted her head back and opened her mouth. Sombra clenched his fist, wincing as blood gushed out of the wound and in the girl's mouth.
After a few seconds, Sombra finally stopped, and the girl licked the blood on her lips. Her eyes were glowing with power. She was smiling.
"Now, go back to that school and locate the Elements. Once you find them, report back immediately." Sombra ordered.
The girl nodded, and, putting the hood back on, she used her newfound powers to go back to the school where Jake, Naomi, Sigurd and the headmaster were waiting for the six naked girls to come back to the world of the awake.
... ... ... ...
Back in the school's infirmary, Jake was snoring while Naomi was sitting beside the pale-pink-haired girl. She felt responsible for the six girls currently unconscious. It was now around 9:50 AM, and Naomi's stomach growled. Satoshi, who had come a few hours ago, jumped on Naomi's laps and lied down on them.
You should get something to eat. Satoshi said.
"Not now, Sato." Naomi answered.
Satoshi rolled his eyes and closed them, aiming to take a nap. However, his luck turned as the pale-pink-haired girl stirred in the bed, causing Naomi to stand up, thus making Satoshi fall off the laps of Naomi. She then slowly opened her eyes. They were bigger than normal, and were teal. The girl slowly sat up in the bed, causing the sheets to fall off her breasts. Naomi's face turned slightly red at the apparent lack of common sense, then she spoke.
"You should probably grab the sheets and keep them over your breasts in case a boy walks in." She told the girl.
"Why?" The girl asked.
Naomi was about to answer when the headmaster walked in with some clothes.
"Because you are now a human, and it is socially required of women to keep their breasts covered in public, especially when men are around." The headmaster explained.
The headmaster went to the girl's bed and offered the clothes. She grabbed them and looked through the pile until she found something she liked. She chose a white t-shirt and a butter-coloured skirt. The headmaster took back the pile and gave the girl some underwear.
"What are these?" She asked.
"Underwear. You wear those under normal clothing mostly to hide what must not be seen further." The headmaster said.
The girl grabbed the white bra and held it in front of her. The headmaster put a hand on the bra, and the girl let go of it. The headmaster then helped the girl put the clothes on.
... ... ... ...
In Sombra's cave in the French Alps, the girl who was supposed to learn the location of the Elements was sitting on the floor, her hood off her head. Strangely, her eyes were no longer red, but a deep blue. She was playing like a little girl, laughing now and then. Sombra was looking at his daughtee with tender eyes.
Right after the girl came back to report, and once the report itself was done, the girl reverted back to her youth. One of the problem of blood magic was that it caused a tremendous strain on the user's body and mind.
"The infirmary. And it seems two of the three teenage children are there too." Sombra said to himself. "It might be a good thing to see if the three teenage children can succeed where Discord himself failed. The corruption of the Elements... It is not a bad idea after all, Discord... And I hope you and I will finally be together again, headmaster of the Magia Academy. Our daughter might need you someday... And I am sure you still have what made me fall in love with you in the first place... I just need to wait, and let my plan work itself out for now. Soon, Amy... Soon, you'll be back to the way you were all those years ago..."