My Little Pony: The Mobian Era

by Mister E-Nonymous

Episode 17: Crayton Castle's Secrets

Episode 17: Crayton Castle's Secrets

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The Mane 6, the Freedom Fighters and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in the lab in Knothole. They were all looking at a holographic globe. They were recapping on what was going on.

"Okay," Twilight said. "Here's what we know. Doctor Julien Robotnik, a brilliant scientist yet psychopath planned on taking over the world with his robots attempted to take over Equestria."

"But by our hands, he was stopped," Sonic said. "But apparently, he has teamed up with a group of hairy creatures that apparently work for someone called the Storm King."

"Eggman's mechs and the Storm King's creatures has stolen the remains of the Storm King, the Staff of Sacanas, and the machine that turned Cozy Glow back to her organic form," Twilight said.

"And the only way to power the machine is by a Chaos Emerald," Sally said. "So, we need to find the last four Chaos Emeralds before any of them find them."

The group stopped recapping. MC placed one of the Chaos Emeralds they had in a machine. He then said, "This Emerald will help us detect where the others are located in the world."

"The Chaos Emeralds could be anywhere," Rainbow Dash said. "How are we going to know where they are?"

"Chaos Emeralds found," came the voice of Nicole. "One is in Cairo, Egypt. One is in Beijing, China. One is in Sydney, Australia. And the last one is in a place that has no inhabitants." The group looked at the location and MC's eyes narrowed.

"It can't be," MC said.

"What is it, Michael?" Rarity asked.

MC sighed and said, "That one is mine. I'm going to that location alone."

"C'mon, MC," Sonic said. "We all have to stay in groups. Don't go at it alone."

Twilight looked at the location, and thought of something. She then asked, "That's where your kingdom is, isn't it?" That made the others look at MC. He tightened his fists as everyone looked at him.

"That place is very personal to me," MC said. "I'm going, alone." He then headed out. The group looked at him as he was leaving.

Sonic walked up to Twilight and asked, "We're so sneaking onto the ship he's taking, aren't we?"

"Oh, yeah," said Twilight.

---

---

In the Spirit of Freedom, MC was piloting it somewhere. He was sighing as he was almost to his location.

"After all this time, I'm heading home," MC said. He then remembered something from his past. He remembered his guards fighting to protect MC's family, his father trying to hold off some robots with a sword, and his mother giving him a sad smile.

"Be brave... my son..." the voice of MC's mother echoed in his head.

"Mom..." MC said, quietly. Then something came in from the back of the Spirit of Freedom. He then unbuckled and said, "Nicole, take over."

"Yes, sir, Michael," Nicole's voice came from the front. The ship was now on auto pilot.

MC walked over to the back of the ship. He looked around. He then started smelling and said, "I can smell you, Sparkles. I can smell all of you. Sonic, Pinkie, Nyx, Joshua. Come out of your hiding place."

Then the group appeared from an invisibility spell that Twilight had casted. Twilight then said, "Sorry, MC. But we had to know why you wanted to go to the location alone."

"It's personal," MC said. "I don't have to explain myself."

"Oh, c'mon!" Pinkie said, coming up from behind him. "Turn that frown upside down!" She then forced MC to smile, but his eyebrows were still angry. As soon as Pinkie let go of MC's mouth, he pulled the smile back down to a frown.

"Don't touch my face," MC said.

"MC, we're a team," Sonic said. "You can tell us why you're going to that place."

"It is where you were born, right?" Twilight asked. "Your kingdom?"

MC groaned and said, "You're right, Sparkles. That place is where my old kingdom was."

"So, why did you leave the kingdom to join the Freedom Fighters?" Nyx asked. "Did you not want the throne?"

MC tensed up. He then sighed and said, "You're wrong about that, Nyx." MC then went back to the controls. "It's just really personal."

Twilight looked over at Sonic and asked, "Do you know what's up?"

"I do," Sonic said. "He just told me to keep it a secret from the others."

"How did you two meet?" Pinkie asked, concerned.

Sonic sighed and said, "It was about eight years ago. We were little kids back then."

It then sequenced to the past. Sonic was rushing through dirt paths, enjoying his speed and tricky terrain. He then saw something coming up. He slowed down and stopped in front of a young MC.

"Whoa, I'm sorry," Young Sonic said. "I almost ran into you. You okay?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Young MC said, sadly. He then walked past Young Sonic. Young Sonic then turned around and put an arm around Young MC's shoulders.

"Oh, c'mon," Young Sonic said. "You seemed depressed. Tell me." Then both of their stomachs growled. Sonic then said, "While we're eating lunch. My treat."

Young MC then sighed and said, "I guess I could eat. I haven't eaten a proper meal in a week."

"Oh, you are definitely coming with me," Young Sonic said, grabbing young MC's arms. He then started speeding off somewhere.

"Whoa!" Young MC shouted.

"C'mon, kid!" Young Sonic said. "This isn't even my full speed! I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Young MC was surprised on how fast Young Sonic was going. He then smirked and then started moving his legs to catch up with Sonic. He was moving at just about the same speed as Sonic.

"My name is Michael Crayton," Young MC said.

"Michael Crayton, huh?" Sonic asked. "Mind if I call you MC?"

"MC?" Young MC asked, thinking about what Sonic said. He then smirked and said, "I like that."

It then sequenced back to the present. "After that, MC told me about what happened to him. He had a tough life before that day. But, he refused to tell anyone else in the Freedom Fighters when we formed. It was actually a year ago that we formed the Freedom Fighters."

"So, how long until we can get to where we're going?" Joshua asked.

"We're almost there," came Nicole's voice. MC then went back to the controls.

"Give me the yoke," MC said. MC then took over the controls and took the Spirit of Freedom down. The Spirit of Freedom landed. The group then walked out of the Spirit of Freedom.

They landed in front of a jungle. They looked at the jungle. Twilight said, "This doesn't look like much."

"Oh, this isn't my kingdom," said MC. "This jungle is just the defense system."

"Defense system?" everyone else asked.

"The captain of the royal guards of my kingdom told me that this jungle was full of deadly traps," said MC. "He said that there are so many traps in this place that the only way through is to be a citizen of the kingdom."

"And what about those who aren't citizens to the kingdom?" Twilight asked.

"They would need to be escorted by one who is, and they need a code word to deactivate the traps," MC said.

"Well, what's the code word?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know," MC said. "I wasn't told."

"The captain forgot to tell you?" Twilight asked. "Why would he do that?"

"You'll find out later," Sonic said. "Now, c'mon. Let's get going."

"Okay, how do we basically dodge these traps?" Twilight asked.

"It won't be easy," said MC. "But if you follow my lead, we'll get through the forest without a scratch." The others nodded. Then they all headed in.

Later, the rest of the group made it out of the jungle wall. Twilight, Pinkie, Sonic, Nyx and Joshua were all unscathed. MC on the other hand had thorns, wooden stakes, and spiked chains. He walked out like he didn't have any injuries.

"Are you okay, MC?" Twilight asked. "You got hurt a lot protecting us."

"It's okay," said MC. "I've been through worse."

"It's true," Sonic said. "He's basically the toughest guy in the Freedom Fighters."

The group then walked over towards the gates to the kingdom as MC was removing the things attached to him, each wound he had healed instantly.

"You guys wanted to know why I left my kingdom," MC said, putting his hands on the gates. His hands then started glowing and the sound of metal gears turning came from the door. "Well, here's why."

As the gates opened, the group looked at what was behind the gates. Twilight, Pinkie, Nyx and Joshua gasped. The kingdom was all in ruins, ash and carnage.

"What... what happened to this place?" Twilight asked.

"It's all that's left of my Kingdom," MC said, walking over to one place. There were the bones and clothing of a little girl creature. A little away from the girl's right arm was a stuffed animal. MC grabbed the doll, raised the bony arm of the girl, and put it under the girls hand when lowering the arm.

"Did you know that creature?" Pinkie asked.

"Yeah," MC said. "This was Emma. She was my friend when I was younger."

"I'm... so sorry, MC," Twilight said. "How long ago was your kingdom attacked?"

MC sighed and looked away from the group. He then said, "Nine years ago... today." MC then headed off somewhere.

"And it's his birthday today," Sonic said. That made Twilight, Pinkie, Nyx and Joshua gasp.

"His birthday?!" Pinkie shouted. "That's... that's so sad!" Her hair then went flat.

"Let's... let's keep going," MC said. He then headed off somewhere. The others following.

---

---

The group headed over a hill. And as they reached the top of the hill, they saw something.

"Welcome to my family's castle," MC said, motioning his hand for all of them to look. That made Twilight, Pinkie, Nyx and Joshua gasp.

"It... it looks like..." Nyx said, trying to find the words.

"Like Nyxie's castle before Lord Tirek destroyed it the first time he came to Ponyville!" Pinkie finished for Nyx.

MC looked at the group in confusion and asked, "Sparkles, is that true?"

"Yes," Twilight said. "This should be interesting."

"Well, we should be careful here," said MC. "There are a lot of defenses in this kingdom that haven't been set off yet. So be careful." The group headed for the front doors of the castle. They walked in and looked at everything. The texture, the armor, and the tapestry.

"Wow," Twilight said. "This is so amazing!" She was about to take a step forward, but MC stopped her.

"Hang on," MC said. "This place is full of traps, remember?" The group looked down at the tiled floor. There were black and white tiles like on a chess board. MC then stepped on one white tile. "Only step on the white tiles in a straight line."

"Why?" Twilight asked.

"Step on the wrong one, and you'll be falling down to the dungeon's torture chamber," MC said. "C'mon. We can't..." MC stopped when Twilight and Nyx were flying, them carrying the others in their magic. Then they flew over the tiled floor to the other side. "Okay, now you're just showing off." MC then stepped on the white tiles to the other side.

Then they headed into one room, where three thrones sat on the other side. All of them were against the wall. MC walked over to the thrones, went to his knees, and put his hands in a praying manner. He then bowed down to the ground.

"The throne room," Twilight said.

"MC said that this was where the last king made his final stand," Sonic said. He then looked around, and saw a red cloak with bones underneath, and a sword in the right hand and a crown on his head. "That must be him."

MC stood up, and walked over to the bones of the king. MC took a knee and bowed. MC then said, "Hey, dad." He then sighed. "I'm home."

Twilight walked over to MC and hugged him. She then said, "I'm sorry about this, MC. We should've known how personal this was to you."

MC then headed over to the throne and sat in it. MC then said, "This throne would have been mine. My parents would have wanted what was best for me, but I didn't know what was best when I last saw them alive. I'm a royal with a kingdom that only has one living citizen in it. And I'm that one citizen."

Sonic then walked over to MC and put a hand on MC's shoulder. Sonic then said, "You're gonna be okay. You've become a Freedom Fighter. That's like being a part of our family."

MC smirked. But then something caught his ears. He turned his head to the right, hearing something from behind him. It was some kind of roar.

"Do you guys hear that?" MC asked.

"Hear what?" Twilight asked. "I don't hear anything." MC then stood up and looked back at the throne. MC then remembered something. He then grabbed the sphere on the right side of the throne, and moved it back. Then the throne rose up, revealing a secret passage.

The others were jaw dropped and Nyx said, "That definitely wasn't there when my castle was up."

"Where do you think it leads?" Joshua asked.

"Wanna go find out?" Sonic asked. Then the group started walking down the hallway as the throne descended back to it's original place.

Twilight, Nyx and Joshua lit up their horns, showing what was there. MC was up ahead, trying to find the source of the roaring. Twilight then asked, "MC, are you sure you heard something?"

"I'm still hearing it," MC said as they continued walking.

"Well, what are you hearing?" Pinkie asked.

"It's... it's a dragon roar," MC said. That made the others stop. Twilight then used her magic to pull MC back.

"Are you serious?" Twilight asked. "You heard a dragon?"

"That's really surprising," Sonic said. "Before the entire continent of Equestria came, dragons have been really rare."

"I heard it," MC said. "It's coming from down there. Follow me."

Twilight teleported in front of MC and he stopped. She then said, "Are you sure you heard a dragon?" He then looked around and saw a pile of rubble. "We had to stop here."

"What? Why?" Twilight asked.

MC pointed at the rubble and said, "That's where I last saw my mom. Under that pile of rubble." Twilight gasped.

"You mean...?" Twilight asked. MC walked over to the rubble. Twilight followed. They looked around the rubble, but there was no sign of anyone there.

"She's gone?" MC asked. "But... but that can't be."

"Somebody took her corpse?" Sonic asked. "But how is that possible?"

MC then started smelling around. He then said, "I don't smell any scents here. No one has been in this hallway for years. Who could have done it." He then heard the roar again. He turned his head towards the source of the roar. He then started running at a slow pace towards it.

"Hey! MC!" Twilight shouted.

"Wait up!" Sonic called out. Then he, Twilight, Pinkie, Nyx and Joshua started following MC. They stopped at the base of a tower. There was a bridge that led to the middle of the room with a pool of water underneath.

"What is this place?" Twilight asked.

"Look at that!" Pinkie pointed at something. The group looked and saw a stone dragon, looking down at the middle of the room. "Wow! That is one scary looking dragon!"

Twilight looked over at the wall and saw an inscription. She then said, "Look at this. It's some kind of test. A test of only a member of the Royal Family should be able to do."

"A test?" Nyx asked. "What kind of test? I don't see anything."

"It says... the next king... must look at the eyes of the dragon," Twilight said. "Whoever has the power from the Spirit of the Dragoon, the power shall be awoken. The Dragoon Force."

"Dragoon Force?" Sonic asked. "It's just a myth."

"What if it's not?" MC asked. "Doctor Robotnik wanted the most powerful things so he could use them to take over the world." He then thought of something. "That's why he attacked my kingdom so long ago. He was after the Dragoon Force all along. But what he didn't know is that it was already inside..." MC then looked down at his hands. "...a Royal Family Member."

Twilight then noticed something. It was a small button. She pushed it, and a hidden compartment opened up. Inside it was a journal. She then said, "Look at this." The group looked over at Twilight and the journal. "It's the journal of someone named... Zachariah Crayton."

"The first King of the Kingdom," MC said. "From 800 years ago." He then looked at the journal.

"'I had claimed this kingdom to protect all of the people to live in peace and harmony,'" Twilight read. "'But there were others who wanted to claim the kingdom for their own. We were sworn to protect the land from whose who want the power of our great protector. Dragoon. He had been protecting the land from incoming invaders for a long time. But then, the time came. When he was gaining the age for him to depart from this world, my wife was almost about to give birth to our first child. But she got sick. She was dying. Dragoon had agreed to help save my wife, giving up his own. He had placed all of his power into my wife, and she lived on as she gave birth to my son, Jeremiah. Dragoon had told me that his body shall be forever stone, and any descendant of Zachariah, no matter how long it will take, shall look into the eyes of his stone body, shall be tested on what powers Dragoon might have, and the spirit shall awaken inside of the one who holds them.'"

The group looked into the eyes of the statue. MC didn't look at it as he was looking down at the journal. Sonic looked over to MC. He then walked over to him and said, "MC. You don't think it's you who has the powers, do you?"

"That depends," MC said. "What are they?"

Twilight looked at the journal. She read one section. "Dragoon's powers are... Super Strength, Super Speed, Vocal Manipulation, Healing, Self-Density Manipulation, Longevity, Molecular Manipulation, Elemental Mimicry, and the ability to slice through any solid, no matter what."

"Those are all MC's powers," Sonic said. "He must be..." He then looked at MC.

MC then started walking towards the center of the room. He then looked up at the statue and looked into the dragon's eyes. MC's eyes then started glowing in a golden aura. Then the room started shaking.

"What's happening?!" Joshua asked, holding onto Nyx.

Just then, the ground beneath MC crumbled, and he fell down into the water. The others called out, "NO!!" They tried grabbing MC, but he was descending into the water, in a trance.

---

---

The group watched as MC descended. Twilight then took off her jacket, socks and shoes, and she jumped into the water. She tried swimming to grab MC, but she was out of breath. She came out of the water, gasping deep.

"Twilight!" Pinkie shouted. She and Sonic reached for her and took one hand each. They pulled her up.

"Where's MC?" Sonic asked.

"He's still going down," Twilight said. "If he doesn't get out of that trans, he could die."

"I don't think that would be possible," Sonic said. "MC's tougher than he looks. He swam through lava in an active volcano."

"Hopefully, he can get out of there soon," Nyx said.

At the bottom of the water, MC hit the floor and fell on his back. His eyes were still glowing in a golden aura. His eyes then went back to normal. He then started swimming up the water to the surface. As he came up, there wasn't a single building around, and no one was there.

"Sonic? Sparkles? Pinks?" MC called out as he looked around. Then something caught his eyes. It was an egg bigger than him. Something about it was making him want to break it open. "What is this?" Just then, his hands moved on their own, clenched themselves into fists, and started glowing in a golden aura. They then smashed the egg open, and inside was a fox that MC knew too well. MC looked up at the fox and saw surprised. "D-Dad?"

"Welcome home, my son," the fox said, smiling. MC's eyes then started shedding tears. He ran up to his father and hugged him. "It's alright, Michael. You're safe here."

"But... I thought you were..." MC said until his father covered MC's mouth with a finger.

"I am, Michael," said MC's father. "I am gone from the living world. But that doesn't mean I'm not with you."

"But why did you just... give up your life?" MC asked. "I was the only survivor. You could have done something."

"I know, Michael," said MC's father. "But there are some things that even you must learn. The power you have in you, is nothing compared to what you have around you."

"And that is?" MC asked.

"You'll know when you get out of here," said MC's father. "Isn't that right, Zachariah."

MC turned around and saw the first king. Zachariah. He then looked down at MC and smiled. He then said, "So, this is the one who has the power. Paul, your son is rather... incredible."

"Zachariah," MC said.

"We might have lost the kingdom, but that doesn't mean you can't rebuild," Zachariah said. "Be a good king of wherever you want to be." He then pushed MC back into the water.

MC then got out of his trance, but he was still in the water. He looked around, and then he got up and started swimming. But something caught his eyes. He looked down and saw a green glow. He widened his eyes and opened his mouth a little. He then started swimming towards it.

Back above the water, Pinkie came back into the room with a diving suit with a hose and a pump. She then said, "Okay. I'm gonna put on this suit, go down, and get MC. All you have to do is keep pumping."

Just then, the water started turning green. The group looked at the water, and Twilight asked, "What's happening?"

Then coming out of the water was MC, and he landed in front of the group. And in his left hand was what they were originally looking for.

"The Chaos Emerald?" Sonic asked. "You actually found it?"

MC was panting. He then smirked. "Yeah. I got it."

"That makes four Chaos Emeralds for the Freedom Fighters," Twilight said. "We have to find the other three before Doctor Robotnik finds one of them."

"And the Storm King would return," Joshua said.

"No way we're gonna let some meanie evil scientist bring back the monstrous Storm King!" Pinkie Pie said. "Let's get out of here and head on home!"

"Agreed," said MC. "And bring the journal. I have a lot to learn about my powers." Twilight smiled and held the book tight in her hands. Then they all headed out of there. They got back in the Spirit of Freedom. As they were heading home, Twilight thought of something.

"MC, if you didn't go through the jungle to get out, how did you?" Twilight asked.

"The Oracle of Delphius was a family friend," MC said. "He got me out of there when night fell on my seventh birthday, nine years ago. He taught me to control my powers when I was younger. But since my seventh birthday, I had to grow up pretty quickly."

"Must've been tough for you if you had lost everything," Joshua said. "Almost like what happened to me."

MC looked over at Joshua and said, "You haven't had the worst of it. You were saved and given a good home with a good family. Isn't that right, Sparkles?"

Twilight smiled, nodded and said, "Joshua needed a loving family. Sure, he lost his humanity, but he's learned to live with it."

Joshua ran over to Twilight, and the two hugged. The Spirit of Freedom continued heading back to Knothole.

Author's Note:

Next Episode:
Daring Down

Comments

[kuroi-me]

"I can smell you, Sparkles. I can smell all of you. Sonic, Pinkie, Maria, Nyx, Joshua. Come out of your hiding place."

Later, the rest of the group made it out of the jungle wall. Twilight, Pinkie, Sonic, Nyx and Joshua were all unscathed. MC on the other hand had thorns, wooden stakes, and spiked chains. He walked out like he didn't have any injuries.

you forgot Maria in the group because she is also present.