16- Wake up call
Bound by Scales- Wake up call
Point of View: Ken
Anytime I tried to drift away in sleep the night after I sent out the Alok Kun, I was unfortunately unsuccessful. For the most part, I was just lying there, awake and staring into nothingness, even though I felt Applejack’s warm presence next to me. Right now… even though it didn’t look like it, I was worried. Worried about many things that I had been putting off for sometime that might affect how good life was for me right now… But most importantly, I was worried for Applejack… For Pinkis… for their safety. Caex was right… I was feeling the effects of fatherhood. But it felt like there was something more. Something that I could not see right now… Either that or I was feeling the effects when it came to lack of sleep.
When I finally laid my head down and closed my eyes, I woke up to something completely different. All around me was the deep ink like blackness of the void with small dots of white that served as stars. It was then when I turned around though did I find something unexpected. I wasn’t alone. Right behind me was none other than the princess of the night herself. Princess Luna.
“Greetings Ken,” She broke the silence, bowing in response to my presence. “It has been a while since we have last spoken to one another.” The Alicorn wasn’t wrong when she said that. The last time we had a chance to talk was around two weeks to possibly a month ago. Time flew by very quickly and because of it, I was personally surprised when I first saw her standing there. In return though, I acknowledged her presence by nodding my own head before speaking.
“Princess Luna, It has been quite some time. Should I assume that right now we are in my dreams?” I asked, unsure if we were in there or in the “soul room” like Coryena would put it. The Alicorn nodded, answering my question without the use of words. So, in response, I replied with a follow up question. “So my friend, what brings you all the way out here? My dreams aren’t quite as… interesting as some would imagine.”
“Ah yes… But I am here so I can talk to you without having to wake you or fair Applejack up in the temple.” That… actually made sense. She is the Princess of the Night. I just didn’t expect her to be a dreamwalker. If that was the case though, then there must’ve been another reason why she was here.
“What would you like to talk about?” I asked politely. Curious as to what the Lunar alicorn wanted to talk to me about at this hour. What I heard from her next though surprised me.
“I would like to discuss with you two things. The first is with how to defeat Nightmare Moon in the near future, but the second one is more of a… personal question I want to ask you.”
A personal question? That was… kind of unexpected. Then again, there are a lot of things here that not a lot of people can expect so who am I to judge?. “Alright, what would you like to ask me?” I asked her, calmly and quietly awaiting her response as the mare looked back at me with a small blush on her face.
“I w-was wondering if… well… if I could become part of your hoard.” Well that just escalated quickly. I never expected that kind of question to be heard from a Princess. “A-a long time ago, I knew the Onyx Dragons before they were driven so close to extinction. I feel as if I… was somehow responsible. So please… Let me help you make things right.” I took some time to think this over. I knew that I was the head of the Hoard and that Luna was a nice person. But after what happened with Pinkis, I didn’t want anypony else I cared for getting hurt. Sighing a little, I looked back at her with the most honest expression I could come up with at the time.
“I’m okay with it. But we should talk to Revaan about it first just in case,” I replied to her, the alicorn nodding in response. With that though, I saw her horn shine a little and when I woke up, I found her just mere inches away from my bed. And the only thing I had on was a pair of pants.
“J-just let me get a shirt and we’ll be off.” I said, a little bit shocked by seeing her so suddenly. Acknowledging my present… situation, she let me grab a shirt to throw on from the closet as I walked with her to Revaan’s chambers. It was still early morning and the sun had not risen yet, but it was then that I had to focus on something else right now. Excusing myself for a moment, I made my way to the infirmary. Where I found myself face to face with the stallion in charge of the clinic.
“Good morning, Dr. Cross,” I acknowledged him, who was looking through the papers that were on the clipboard that he had as he redirected his focus towards me. “How are you?”
“Okay for the most part. Like any other typical morning here in the hollow,” He sighed a little, drinking from a small coffee cup. “I would guess that you are here to see Pinkis?”
I nodded my head, explaining that I wanted to see her current condition. He soon lead the way towards the room in the clinic where she was and when I saw her on the bed in there asleep, I felt like I had to breath a huge sigh of relief. As Dr. Cross explained to me, it took a while in order to make sure that she was stable. But he was thankful that she was resting properly and if we gave her time, she would expect to make a full recovery. Not only that, but what happened to her didn’t hurt the child that Pinkis was having. However, void travel to get her here accelerated her pregnancy and now she was at four months and a small round tummy was visible now.
Still though, seeing that made me feel happy for her. She was safe now and with the possibility that her friends would be staying here too, I had a good feeling that nothing bad will happen to her for a while now. “Thank you for taking care of her, Dr. Cross. Can you let me know when she is awake so I can see her?”
“Certainly Ken.” He replied, allowing me to breath a sigh of relief. That was only for a short while though because when I was walking back there, I began to hear some commotion from back at the temple. It sounded like AJ was up, but what she was doing at this hour in the morning was beyond me. Especially with the fact that it sounded like she was yelling or chasing somepony.
When I got there though, I found a very strange sight. Applejack was in her dragon form and from the angle I was seeing it, she seemed to be intimidating a unicorn that was paler than Twilight and had two different color tones in her mane and tail. Her mane was tied up in the back and judging from her expression, something made her feel intimidated. However, I can’t exactly judge from first glance.
“Okay, just what the hell is going on here?!” I shouted, my voice roaring a little so both mares could notice that I was here. Applejack herself though, from her position, did nothing to back down as she looked at me.
“Ken, stay out of this. This is personal.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked her, “I just got back from checking on Pinkis and I find you intimidating a mare. Can you please tell me what is going on?” She growled a little, looking back at me as she scraped the ground with her claws and sighed.
“Before I met you Ken, my friends and I went to a village community like this one where this mare named Starlight Glimmer was running it. That same night, she stole our cutie marks and cut us off from all our talents and barely escaped when we tried to catch her. Now I found this lying mare crawling around here and I was suspicious of her motives.” That got me thinking though as I looked at her. She seemed to have a look of guilt on her face, but also was gritting her teeth. Why would she be here then?
“Well… Then let me ask her,” I told her. For a moment, Starlight’s expression lightened up a little and Applejack looked at me with a expression of disbelief. But then I told her my reason. “You are the element of honesty, so you can catch her when she is lying…” It was then that I turned to her and got on my knees to not look so intimidating.
“W-who are you?” She then asked. “H-how do you know Applejack?”
“That… is a complicated story. However, right now, I’ll be asking the questions,” I told her, looking back at AJ as she reverted back to her earth pony form and nodded her head. “Starlight, what is your reason for being out here in the Obsidian Hollow?”
She took a moment, taking in her surroundings before breathing in a little and slowly responding to my question. “I… i just needed a place to start over. I do admit… I originally had plans for revenge against the humiliation and shame that was brought against me back then… but the more I thought of it, the more I soon realized that the only way I could overcome my past mistakes was to start over and begin a new life… I was with one other being though, but she and I got separated in this place.”
I looked back at Applejack, raising an eyebrow. “One… other being? Who?”
“I don’t know what she was… but she called herself Crystal. We split up a little while ago and I think she might be somewhere in this place.” Starlight replied. Taking a moment to look at Applejack, she soon gave me a surprising response.
“She’s telling the truth, Ken… All of it.”
That got me thinking a little as I returned to Applejack and Starlight. “If that’s the case, then I got a possible feeling that this “Crystal” is a displaced and that she might cause a commotion if she startles somepony else. Starlight, where did you two split up at?”
“I-i think I remember last seeing some… wooden racks that held something when we split up.” My mind was now on Overdrive now. That she was talking about the weapon racks in the armory!! Not only that, but I also kept my supplies in there. If something happened in there, it would have to lead to a huge cleanup and I was not in the mood for one after the last two times Asphyxious was here.
I bolted out of there as fast as I could, hurrying to try and make sure that everything was still intact and hopefully, I could find this Crystal individual.
Point of View: Crystal (Few minutes ago...)
After discovering a shortcut into the temple, Starlight and I split up after seeing all the weapons in the armory. I walked along the racks and looked at the varied weapons, wondering what kind of steel they were made of. After hearing rapid hoofsteps recede into the distance, I didn’t think Starlight would get caught so soon but it was bound to happen sooner or later. She wasn’t exactly stealthy to begin with.
I rubbed my dragon-scale scarf along the side of my neck to try and get rid of a few sweat drops and twisted the ring on my finger in nervousness. There was a corner of the room that didn’t seem to be lit up like the rest of the room, so I carefully lit my hand up on fire and inspected the corner more closely. It looked like there was a bag full of supplies and tokens. Sifting through the tokens, I recognised one of them and fingered the pendant under my scarf as I looked them over.
“Connor’s necklace. I don’t recognize the other ones though,” I muttered under my breath and stood up from my inspection. I stretched, put out the flame on my hand and wandered out of the armory and into a corridor connecting this room to some other part of the temple. This place was huge! It certainly didn’t look like it from the outside when Starlight and I found that shortcut.
This place didn’t look that foreboding and even though I could pick up the scent of dragon no matter which way I turned my head; trying to find Starlight by smell was out of the question. I heard running footsteps from a fair distance away and decided to quickly head back to the armory. It was the only room that seemed of interest for now as well as being the first place I thought of to hide in. When I got back, I didn’t really think things through, considering that there weren’t any hiding places in the armory!
Panicking, I brought a solid-looking cube out of my pocket and reached into it, feeling for something that could I could possibly defend myself with. After groping around and touching a few objects, my fingers brushed against the pages of a book and I sighed, shaking my head at it. I don’t think bringing a dragon killer here would be the best of ideas. I reluctantly let go of the book and brought my arm out of the cube. I placed the cube back in my pocket and shook my hands to loosen up in case the footsteps running towards me were hostile.
Peaking my head from behind a pillar, I could now see who was coming. It looked to be some guy-. Oh god, what happened to his arm!? I gasped at the sight, hoping that the shadows in here would hide me. But I was still trying to be cautious. What exactly was he doing here?
Point of View: Ken
As I entered the armory, I began to see many things. Weapons, supplies, tokens… but no sign of this Crystal individual. Still though, I remained a little bit cautious and tried not to scare her. Given the shadows in here, it might be the best time to try that new trick I learned from Revaan.
“Alok Kun,” I said to myself, letting a small dragon of light emerge as it took a look around. Not long after though, it split into several small balls of light as it went to each of the unlit torches in the room, setting them ablaze. With the newfound light… came the appearance of a new figure. One that was a young girl, but strangely reminded me of Natsu from Fairy Tail. “Would you happen to be Crystal?” I asked her, trying to sound calm in my voice.
“Yeah, who’s asking?” Crystal replied and I watched her light her hands up on fire.
“My name is Ken Ahkrin. I’m not your enemy… Your friend Starlight told us that you were here and I came looking for you.” I told her honestly. However, whether she wanted to believe me or not was another thing.
“I thought I heard Starlight run away from something. It sounded like a dragon was chasing her but with that scent all around, it was hard to tell,” Crystal told me and she put out the flames, seemingly satisfied with my answer.
“That… would be my marefriend Applejack. She can turn into an earth dragon at will and has a bit of… history involving Starlight.” I replied, trying my best to sound discreet.
“She can what? If you’re telling the truth about Applejack then I’m glad I didn’t call my brother for help,” Crystal said, a surprised tone to her voice. She roved her eyes over my body and her gaze lingered on my arm. “What happened to your arm? I didn’t think dragons could do that sort of thing.”
“I’m a Scalebound. My soul is bound to a dragon that’s my partner and with it, I gain my powers and combat skills,” I explained. “The arm is the proof of our bond… So Crystal… what brings you to our Temple in Obsidian Hollow?”
“I’m not really sure. All I know is that I was helping Starlight with something and we found a shortcut into here,” Crystal said unsurely. “We got separated and I found myself interested in your token collection,” she pointed to the mess of tokens in the corner. “I only recognized one, but I think it was because this could be a chance to learn about a different sort of dragon species.”
“Oh?” I asked, intrigued by what she said. “Which token?”
“Connor’s necklace,” she explained, lifting up her scarf to show a necklace with a pendant of a cat’s eye marble inside a dragon’s claw.
“Well, looks like you and I both have some similar friends then,” I chuckled, looking back at the two tokens as she placed both of them back on their respected shelf. “How did you meet them?”
“I met Connor after summoning him for help in a battle with a walking cannon.” ... Okay, What the actual hell was she talking about?
That moment soon lead to both of us sharing our own stories when it came to interacting with Connor. Turns out, her story was a lot stranger than mine. “That’s unexpected,” Crystal told me in a quiet voice as she walked to the door. “What would this make us then?”she asked when she turned away from the door and began to pace in front of it. “Friends by default?”
“How about we start with Acquaintances and when we get to know each other better, we’ll work our way from there?” I offered to her since this was basically the first time that either of us had met one another and things must’ve been confusing for her. So instead, my offer involved taking it slow and seeing what would happen.
“That’s a good start. I don’t even know your name so how about we start over? Hi, I’m Crystal and I got separated from Starlight,” Crystal replied with a sigh, stopping her pacing and offering her hand out. Smiling a little, I extended my own hand to shake it as I introduced myself.
“Ken Ahkrin, Scalebound and Fellow Displaced. Nice to meet you Crystal.” Crystal gave a small smile and took her hand back.
“Nice to meet you too, Ken. Where did your marefriend chase Starlight off to? I lost track of their footsteps somewhere around the middle of the temple.” Crystal asked, poking her head out the door and looked up and down the corridor.
“Follow me, they were in the main square just a moment ago.” I said, walking back towards the two mares right where I last found them.
“Main-oh,” Crystal gasped when she observed the square and followed. “The temple didn’t look this big from the outside.” I heard her breathe.
“Trust me, the temple is only one part of it. There’s a huge community next to it that the temple overlooks. You can see it from the edge here.” I said, having her, Starlight and Applejack walk over to see for themselves.
“Whoa, this is a nice view,” Crystal whistled, leaning on the balcony railing next to Starlight to get a better look and sounding like she was impressed with it. “Wait, what do you mean the temple is only one part of it? I thought the temple was the whole thing in Obsidian Hollow.” Crystal questioned, looking at me inquisitively. That was when I pointed to her down below and when the sunlight crept in, it revealed every home inside the town and all the ponies, changelings and griffons that called the place home. “This is a very diverse place. I don’t think I’ve seen this many different species living together before,” Crystal commented, eyes widening at the spectacle.
“Many of them came here when a lot of their homes were destroyed because of Lord Tirek’s rampage. But in a few short months, they were able to get this place up and running,” I said, looking back at her. “Now thanks to Revaan and I, Zinnia and also my Twilight, the Hollow has changed a lot in only a little bit of time. We can even reach Ponyville from here using the Mirror Gate inside the archives.”
“That’s insane. Show’s what you can do when you put your mind to it, huh?” Crystal said, leaning away from the balcony and turned towards Starlight and Applejack. “You okay there, Starlight?” Crystal asked, concern showing in her voice.
“Y-yeah… Just… It’s a lot to take in…” She said, looking back at me for a moment. I looked back at Applejack, who was giving me a confident nod. A sign that she wasn’t lying. So now was when I decided to ask her something that might’ve swept her and everyone nearby off of their feet.
“If you want Starlight, you are more than welcome to stay with Applejack and I at the temple here. If you want to get some confidence before seeing Twilight again.”
“She can stay?” Crystal questioned in surprise. However, the most amount of surprise that I saw was from Applejack as she looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Of course… She wanted to start over from her previous mistakes and here, we treat everypony like family and care for one another. Support one another. With the right help, we can help Starlight.”
“Starlight had me convinced that you wouldn’t though,” Crystal said, looking down at Starlight and then back to me. I deeply sighed, looking back at them honestly.
“I believe that everyone in one point in their lives feels like they make a big mistake in which they feel as if they can’t be forgiven for it. It may be true, but I am one who believes in second chances. To help anyone I come across that needs it. Not to mention that when Starlight told Applejack and I her story, Applejack can tell that she wasn’t lying. Therefore, I truly believe her when she says that she wants to start over by allowing her to start over here with us.”
“That’s … wow,” Crystal said slowly and gazed down at Starlight. “Do you like the idea of staying here, Starlight?” She asked, crouching down so she didn’t tower over her so much. I did the same thing, and the first thing that I saw was tears. Not tears of sorrow though… more like tears of joy.
“I…… could never be happier.” She cried, wrapping her front hooves around me. “T-thank you so much!!”
“Easy there… You still need to meet some other members in the family… and that goes for AJ too.”
“Say what now?”
“What other members?” Crystal asked, echoing AJ slightly.
“Well, there are a few in town… but there’s one in particular that asked me last night if she could be here as well. She is with Revaan now.” Just as I said that, the doors to Revaan’s chamber opened up as the onyx dragon emerged from its quarters. Alongside him was none other than the Alicorn of the Night herself… Luna.
“Princess Luna?” Crystal inquired with a surprised and a bit of a shocked look on her face. “Who’s the … that dragon is the one whose scent is everywhere …” Crystal mused and her expression turned to one of curiosity when she looked at Revaan.
“Revaan is my partner,” I clarified. “This temple was the home for many Onyx dragons like himself. Now though, he’s one of the last of his kind.”
“He’s one of the last of his kind? What happened to the other Onyx dragons then?” Crystal asked, not able to take her eyes off of Revaan. It was then though that I noticed Revaan grimace a little as I looked back at Crystal.
“Nightmare Moon happened. When she first originally came into form, she was jealous of the fact that Onyx dragons could control more than one element of magic. Not to mention that Luna’s lover before being banished to the moon was an Onyx. Nightmare corrupted most of them, leading them to their own demise by madness. But the rest of the puzzle is yet to be solved.” I said shortly, knowing that it’s a subject that he nor Luna would be wanting to revisit anytime soon.
“Oh. Sorry I brought it up then. It must have terrible memories for you two.” Crystal said softly, bowing her head at them.
“It is alright. You weren’t aware of the subject being one that we would rather not discuss, so don’t blame yourself.” Luna replied to Crystal as she smiled and looked at Starlight. “So this is the Starlight Glimmer that I have heard so much about?” Starlight at this point was blushing completely red. Flabbergasted that a princess knew who she was, the mare did the only thing she could’ve done in that moment.
She fainted.
“Is she okay?” Crystal asked, bending over and waving a hand over Starlight’s face.
“I think she’s just surprised that a princess knew who she was.” Applejack sighed. “Then again, Twilight does write to Luna and Celestia often.”
“Twilight does do that a lot.” Crystal murmured in agreement and stood up straight to look at Applejack. “I don’t know why but I can smell something about an egg on you, Applejack.”
Applejack chuckled as both Revaan and Luna wandered back into the dragons room. “You’re not wrong there… Ken, I think we should show her the eggs.” I nodded my head in agreement, but it was then that Crystal responded to AJ’s statement.
“Eggs? Plural? As in more than one? Wait. How did you actually have eggs when you’re a pony and not something that lays eggs?” Crystal asked in a rush, not really knowing if she said something offensive or not and flicked her gaze between Applejack and I.
“Technically, I’m pony sterile. Only affects humans and dragons. Plus, AJ has her dragon form…” I explained, looking back at her as I told her. “I think you can figure out the rest.” However, it was in this moment that I thought I was beginning to hear something. Something like… Oh my god…
“Applejack…” I said, looking back at her.
“Does anyone else hear egg's cracking, or is it just me?” Crystal asked, cringing at how loud the sounds were to her ears.
That was both Applejack and I realized it and we both simultaneously cursed at the same time. “Oh horseapples.” Crystal took off after hearing this, holding her hands over her ears as she followed the sound. Applejack and I raced after her, running towards the sound of the noise as all three came across a breathtaking sight.
Two small faces of a pair of tiny dragon-ponies were now visible. Oh my god, our children are just plain adorable!!
“I think I’m going to have a heart attack from the adorableness…” Crystal murmured, watching the twin dragon-ponies after uncovering her ears. Applejack and I bent down, Looking to see the tiny faces of both of our kids. One was Onyx with an orange underbelly while the other one was a mix of Red and orange for the underbelly with small black tips for horns and the rest of the body.
“Oh my god, we’re parents now…” I said, looking at Applejack. “That reminds me of something though… We never got around to naming them did we?”
“Well, we never knew if they were a boy or girl yet, but I remember Revaan telling me some good news while you were gone on a displaced trip.” Applejack replied, pointing at the Onyx and Black one first before doing the same thing with the other. “Son… daughter…”
“That’s brilliant! Congratulations you two,” Crystal said excitedly, standing a bit away from us. “You two will be great parents.”
“Thanks Crystal… You know, it may sound weird… but can you help us with the names? I can’t figure them out despite the fact that my son’s pelt really reminds me of Magma in a volcano-.” That’s when it hit me, just as the little one coughed up a small ball of fire.
“Sure, I can help. Hmm. How about Magma for your son, and … Ruby for your daughter?” Crystal suggested, squinting her eyes at the twin dragons.
“That… is perfect,” I said, now having the chance to caress both of them in my arms just as I noticed Starlight waking up. “Welcome to the world you two… You are just plain beautiful.”
“Reminds me of my own,” Crystal murmured and looked over to Starlight as well, watching her wake back up. “Hey, Starlight. Welcome to the land of the living,” she greeted the Unicorn.
“Oww… My head… What happened-?” She asked, seconds before seeing Magma and Ruby. “Oh dear Celestia, those two are adorable! Who do they belong to?”
That’s when I chuckled and gave her an answer that shocked her once again. “They’re ours, Starlight. Applejack and I are now parents...” Looking at Starlight a little, I then chuckled for a moment. “And to them, they may see you as Auntie Starlight.”
“We’ll see about that one, Ken.” Applejack deadpanned, taking the chance to caress Ruby as I held Magma in my arms.
“They’re beautiful though,” Crystal commented, smiling at the twins and twisting her ring a bit. “You two are lucky.”
“Hey, we’re in this hoard together like family… that reminds me… we might need to tell Zinnia about this later.” I said, standing up to realize that Magma was already asleep in my arms. “Come on, I think the little ones would love it if they had some room to sleep.” With that, I got up and lead them into the chamber that Applejack and I would normally sleep in, letting out the soft carpet as AJ and I set them in a pair of newfound beds that Starlight etched their names using magic. “They look so cute in their beds.”
“They always do,” Crystal said in agreement, watching us from the doorway. “Just wait until they start crying during the night,” she added, putting a small smile on her face.
“Hence the reason for soundproofing.” I said, “Plus, Auntie Luna can watch over them at night. She is basically what some may call a “Dreamwalker” after all.”
“Zeref calls her a ‘Dream Traveler’ but it’s the same thing,” Crystal replied. “What does your dragon form look like, Applejack?” Applejack simply answered her question by shifting into her dragon state, her fur turning into scales as she looked back at Crystal shortly after her hooves turned into claws.
“How’s that?”
“Very impressive.” Crystal told her, her tone of voice confirming that. “It’s a lot different from seeing a human turn into a dragon, that’s for sure.”
“Thanks… I’m curious though… how come you are so interested when it comes to dragons… matter of fact, what can you do?” She asked. “Because you strangely remind me of Connor.”
“That’s a bit complicated. Short version, I’m a demon that happens to be a dragon slayer like Connor, except I control fire and crystal. I think this is the same mark as Connor’s?” Crystal replied and lifted up her sleeve to show a red Fairy Tail mark on her right bicep.
“Yep, that’s it alright.” I confirmed for her. “But we might need to take some time later to explain to Starlight what we are talking about.”
“I’ll explain what I am more then as well. Another reason I’m so interested in dragons is because I want to protect dragons.” Crystal explained nervously after nodding her head in agreement. That to me was a good sign. She wanted to help dragons just like Revaan and now with two new additions to our family, someone like Crystal was exactly what we needed.
“Sounds like you’ll fit in just fine.” I smiled, looking back at Crystal.
“Keep that in mind when I explain my reasoning for that later. Ruby and Magma seem to have fallen asleep.” Crystal said softly and watched the sleeping forms of the two dragon ponies. Dear lord, they looked even cuter while they were sleeping!
“We should step outside then so we don’t disturb them,” I suggested, walking towards the door and opening it for them. I watched Crystal step to the side and look at Magma and Ruby happily. Slowly closing the door, I snapped my fingers and let a silver like energy cover over the door for a brief second. “There we go, safe and sound.”
“Does that spell mean the door’s locked?” Crystal asked when she turned her attention to the door.
“Even better. Soundproofing. They won’t be able to hear anything that happens out here or anywhere else in the temple. That way they could sleep peacefully.” I said to them.
“Doesn’t that mean we can’t hear them as well?” Applejack reminded me… and caused me to realize my mistake as I facepalmed myself. Turning back to the door, I snapped my fingers again, reverting the spell so it was no longer in place.
“Thanks for the save AJ.”
“No problem Sugarcube… We’re still new to this whole “parenting” thing, but it’ll take time… Ah reckon that there still is one thing that we’re going to have to do though… well two things really.”
I raised an eyebrow at that. “And those are?”
“Well… even if we are technically parents… we’re not married. And two… nopony else besides ourselves and Crystal knows about Ruby or Magma. We should break the news to them… including mah family.” Damn, she was right… On both accounts. But it was then that I noticed Princess Luna walking over towards us. Why do I have the feeling that she just overheard what Applejack just said?
“Besides Princess Luna most likely overhearing what you said, who are the others you’re talking about other than your family?” Crystal asked AJ, looking at Luna with a bit of apprehension.
“Well there’s my friends, my cousin Braeburn in Appleloosa and a few others. Plus, wouldn’t Celestia or the princesses know about this since ah am one of the elements of harmony?”
“She probably would sooner or later given how she is.” Luna then said. Great… talk about the literal meaning of “royal pains”. It was then though that I remembered something.
“Uh… Applejack… I think we’re forgetting a few people… Remember Zinnia? Technically, we’re one of the branches in her hoard, so everyone else will find out sooner or later.” I mentioned to her, looking at Crystal as well upon remembering that she was married to Freya and her father, Jason was the head of one of the other branches.
“If you two get married it will be an even bigger family,” Crystal commented and gave me a curious look after noticing me. “Why you looking at me like that, Ken?”
“Well… besides Zi… we haven’t really met anyone else in the family. I’m just a little nervous about making a good impression.” I tried to tell her, only for her to interrupt me before I could say anything else.
“Don’t be. I was the same way when I told the others I was pregnant at my own wedding. I’m sure they’ll be glad there’s a few more additions to this already giant family.” Crystal said reassuringly, shooting me a warm smile as a further attempt to soothe. That calmed me down, but surprised Applejack.
“Hang on, you’re pregnant!?” She asked, surprised about what Crystal said.
“Keyword being was, AJ. Three month gestation period thanks to Freya being a changeling. I ended up having four part demon, part changeling hatchlings.” Crystal explained, lifting up the correct amount of fingers when she mentioned numbers and then scratched her head as she smiled sheepishly at us. All I could do was stare at her, just like AJ and Luna right now. But I was the only one to speak up.
“…… How do you function?” Crystal’s face screwed up in confusion when she heard this.
“What do you mean, ‘how do you function’? I function just fine thank you very much,” she replied and crossed her arms over her chest.
“S-sorry. I was just surprised when you said Changeling and all that. I’m not familiar with them that much despite the fact that one of the locals of the townsfolk down below is a changeling named Maple Leaf.” I said, still a little surprised and trying to not do anything stupid. “How is Freya a changeling though?”
“You don’t know. Right. Jason married his world’s Chrysalis and Rarity. Freya is one of three children that Jason had with Chrysalis,” Crystal explained, realisation dawning on her face and then looked at Applejack and Luna worriedly. “They alright?” She waved a hand in front of their faces to see if that would grab their attention.
I looked back at them, assuring to them that Crystal wasn’t going to harm them and offered for both her and I to have a private conversation not far from them. When we moved away, I began to explain why they were worried. “The changelings that are here are here because they’re considered outcasts by this world’s Chrysalis. So besides them, a lot of ponies are nervous that Chrysalis is still an active threat after the stunt she pulled at the Canterlot Wedding, based on what Applejack told me.”
“Ohh. They’re still worried that Chrysalis will attack this village then?” Crystal asked, looking at Applejack and Luna then flicked her gaze back to me.
“Not just that, but also they’re worried that they might attack Ponyville and maybe attack Canterlot again because Twilight and the guards discovered the underground passage they used to infiltrate Canterlot last time.” I said again, based on what Applejack told me before. She and I had this conversation shortly after she had met Maple the first time she was here and also explained why she was concerned about them. Maple made sure to tell her that she and the other changelings that were here we’re not hostile, but she still had her doubts.
“There was an underground passage in Canterlot? There could also be one going out towards Ponyville then as well. Chrysalis would probably want to keep tabs on her enemies and an underground passage sounds like a thing she would do in this world.” Crystal theorized, scratching her cheek in thought.
“All of this just makes me think of something back home. During the Civil War, there was an underground railroad used to have african american slaves fleeing the southern United States to go to the north. This tunnel system just sounds like a literal definition of that phrase…” I said, looking back at her and scratched my chin. “If what you said is true, we should find a way to disrupt it so it won’t be a problem. Either that or use the tunnels as a way for us to find their hive.”
“Why not both? Find a way to disrupt the tunnels and use it to try and search for Chrysalis’s hive as well?” Crystal suggested, her eyes lighting up at this idea. I also liked it too, but there was one thing that came to mind as well.
“If we disrupt the tunnels, wouldn’t that mean that the tunnels would be blocked off?” I asked. “Or do you have an idea that can work?”
“It would, but, Applejack can control earth when she’s a dragon, right? If the tunnels get blocked before we’re able to find the hive, then Applejack could probably tunnel us out and block that tunnel off after we’re all safe,” Crystal informed me, smiling a bit as she talked through the idea.
“She can, but Revaan is still trying to teach her how to master it. At this point, she can conjure earth elementals, use stone to form walls, boulders, pull off a landslide to rush her opponent, execute an earthquake with the stomp of a hoof and, as I found out recently, bend lava to her will.” I explained to her, along with the fact that given Applejack’s personality, she might have a few extra surprises on hoof.
“She can do all that but she can’t tunnel through earth yet?” Crystal asked in slight shock.
“Remember, this is Applejack we’re talking about. She’s had to balance her training with her duties at Sweet Apple Acres. Trust me, I had to help her on the farm once, which led to a Displaced Derpy Hooves that had the powers of Saitama from One Punch Man crash into me.” I sighed, remembering my encounter with Derpy and her family a few weeks ago.
“S-Saitama? The guy that can destroy anything in one punch?” Crystal asked, eyes blinking rapidly at this information. “A Displaced Derpy has that kind of power?”
“Yup. Her niece Sparkler is Genos and her daughter Dinky has Child Emperor’s backpack.” I added on to what I said before. “Surprisingly, her token… and the one thing she can’t control herself over, is muffins.”
“It’s a muffin? What happens if someone or somepony eats it?” Crystal wondered and rubbed her chin in thought before shaking her head and getting a look of resolution on her face. “We’re getting off topic. If Applejack can’t tunnel through earth yet, then we’ve got to think of something else.”
I thought about it for a minute, then thought of something. “Hey… would it be possible that Chrysalis would send scouts to survey certain areas for activity? Maybe if we catch one, they could tell us about an entrance to one of the tunnels. It would be even better if they had a map on hand.”
“That would be possible. I mean, Chrysalis wouldn’t want anything to happen in her tunnels and it sounds like she could do in this situation.” Crystal mused, nodding her head slowly in agreement. “If she does, then we’ll need to figure out how to get one. They could be anypony, remember?”
“Right, but we always keep the walls to the Hollow closed. We technically live inside a cliff in the badlands.” I reminded her.
“Right. Cliffs. Hmm. How about we try and figure out where the scouts could pop up first before doing anything else?” Crystal suggested kindly after taking this new fact into account.
“Well, we have a map of Equestria in the archives,” I informed her as I stretched out my hands. “Why don’t we start there?”
“That sounds like a good place to start. Where are the archives?” Crystal agreed and asked as she looked at the doors hiding Revaan. “Probably just my ears playing up but I think Revaan’s talking to someone, behind those doors.”
“My guess is either Spike, who is Revaan’s son,” I said, noticing Luna and Applejack weren’t present nearby along with Starlight. “Or he’s talking with Luna and Applejack. Maybe introducing him to Starlight.” As I lead her into the Archives to where the map would be, I was surprised to find a visitor inside. It was Maple, the same changeling that I mentioned earlier… and she was quite as surprised to see us as we were to see her.
“Oh, hello Ken. Surprised to see you here,” She said, noticing Crystal. “Who… is this?”
“This is Crystal. She’s a friend of mine and a member of the hoard,” I introduced her to the changeling as we walked over to the map. “Hey Maple, do you think we could ask for your help?”
“My help?” She replied, tilting her head. “With what exactly?” It was then that I basically explained what Crystal and I were talking about a few moments ago, making sure to not skip out on anything so she could completely understand us.
“Oh I get it… You want to prevent the changeling drones from sneaking into the hollow?” I nodded my head in response, getting her attention. “Well, I don’t know much. But I believe that I know a changeling that can help you. He lives in the hollow like I do and he used to be a commander of Chrysalis’ swarm before he was charged with treason.”
“You know a commander that was with Chrysalis?” Crystal asked.
“Of course, he’s my uncle,” She answered Crystal’s question. “His name is Zektor and he used to lead swarms into battle and also was the one who trained the ponies that serve as the town guards. However, he was exiled after opposing against Chrysalis’ plans for the Canterlot invasion, saying that it would gravely affect the hive.”
“Saying my old war stories again, Maple dear?” A new voice said as I turned around to see a new changeling behind me. This one was a lot older, male in appearance, and had a scar over his left eye. The first thing he noticed though was both Crystal and I. “Who are these… strangers?”
“Hello, sir. My name’s Crystal Myriad. Ken and I were wondering if you could help us.” Crystal greeted and introduced herself kindly, smiling at him softly. Her gaze passed over his scar and winced a bit when she realized who did that. Taking a moment, I explained what we were talking about up to now and our plans for what we had seem to have gotten his attention.
“Well, you two really must be eager to get to her where it hurts,” he snickered. “The tunnels are used for more than just sending scouts though. It’s also used as a way to send supplies. Some fools have even used it to trade with desperate ponies eager to earn a few bits if they are offering any goods that the hive might see as an important resource. So by stopping the tunnels, you cut off more than just a way for scouts to travel…”
“You cut off the supply route.” I said briefly.
“Exactly… It’ll be good to give Chrysalis some payback. She stole my eye after I talked back to her and if I didn’t run when I did, she would’ve cut me in half.” The drone said, grimacing a little through having to remember old memories. “Theres one place though that you two may want to consider though… for more than one reason.”
I looked back at Crystal, raising an eyebrow only for a second until the drone pulled out what appeared to be a copy of an equestrian map. Only with a series of red x’s at certain locations. But one location though, set off alarms inside my head.
Sweet Apple Acres.
Crystal looked over the map as well and tried to figure out what locations the red x’s were marking before recognizing a couple.
“There’s one at Sweet Apple Acres and the Everfree Castle,” Crystal murmured and looked at me when she realized what the Apple Farm one meant. “Oh no.”
“The orchard and the castle are two of the primary stops for patrols for two specific reasons,” Zektor told us. “The apples there are used as a source of food and the juices from the fruit are an essential ingredient used in crafting Love Elixirs for when we need to feed. The castle is normally used to look around to find any supplies like weapons or armor that can be scavenged or medical supplies. However, I believe that everything from there has been picked clean as of recently.” I looked back at all three of them before using my right arm to set a finger on the orchard.
“We need to cut it off here. My marefriends family is there and if we try going for any drones at the castle and the queen gets word of our activities, Applejack’s family will be used as hostages,” I spoke in a deep and serious tone as I looked back at Crystal and Zektor. “I’m not letting them get hurt. For Applejack’s sake.” I remember a long time ago a promise that I made to Granny Smith. A promise that I would keep Applejack safe no matter what obstacles stood in the way.
Now… it was time for me to make sure the rest of her family was safe as well.
End Chapter 16
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