//------------------------------// // Chapter 65: One nation, Two species pt.4 // Story: Era of Harmony // by Gambling_Sam //------------------------------// *Tak POV* My jaw dropped at the reveal of the identity of the human in front of us. It couldn't be THAT grandfather, right? He was supposed to had died back on Nicks home planet if what Nick had told us was right. "What do you mean your their grandfather? Aren't you supposed to be dead or something!" Axel stated, voicing my thoughts as Scootaloo looked purely blown away at the information before shaking her head. "And wouldn't that make you super old, anyway?" She said as the man chuckled lightly. "Indeed, Lassie. I am older than anyone in this room." He said as he took a step forward. "As to how I am still alive after my...passing on Earth? Well, I'd rather share that story when my family is around." He said as he pointed to Raiden. "Speaking of which, I need to wake the lad up, pronto. He's got a destiny to fulfill." The man went to Raidens bedside, only to be halted in his tracks by the guard who was in the room beforehoof. "You are not permitted to be near the patient without Princess Luna's direct consent." He said in a stern tone, glaring at the man who simply sighed. "Never tell a Scotsman what to do, Lad." He said before looking into the eyes of the guard and smiling as his eyes glowed gold for a second. "Your wife is pregnant, and in three days she will give birth to the twins she has in her stomach right now." He said, startling the guard into taking a step back. "H-How do you know that?! How do you know my wife?" He stated as the old man ignored him and put a hand on Raidens forehead. "Hey! I said not to-" The grandfather raised a hand to silence the guard as he pulled something out of his robe. It was some sort of necklace, though it was more of a chunk of rock with a gold chain attached than jewelery. Though I couldn't help but feel the powerful enchantments emanating from it. How could something so...thrifty be putting off such power? The human gripped the rock tightly as he put his free hand on Raidens pale forehead as the rock and his hand began to glow. "I see. The darkened magic that brought my sister back from the dead has latched onto Raidens body and refuses to let go. If not removed, he will perish by its poison." He released his hand from Raiden and turned to me. "You are one of Nicholas's friends, right?" I nodded, unable to say anything. "Tell me, child. There is one way to save Raiden, but it would sacrifice his human body in favor of his rightful form. Would Nicholas and Ronin want this to proceed now, or should I wait for them to return for them to decide themselves?" Axel crossed his arms, giving the man a stern glare. "Old man, if you can save Nicks bro, then go ahead and do it." He said while Scootaloo shook her head. "But Raiden is out cold! What if he doesn't want to give up his human form?" She pointed out as I frowned, giving the robed man a wary look. "Why me? Your family to him, shouldn't you make this decision?" I asked him, causing him to look away from us as his hands clenched tightly. "I...I don't deserve to make decisions for these boys anymore. Not after all I have put them through to get them here." He said solemnly, his face hardening as a look of shame graced his facial features. "Do it, then." I said, causing Axel, Scootaloo, and even the guard to look to me in shock. "Nicholas and Ronin would want Raiden to be better, no matter the cost." He nodded and turned to Raiden, putting his hand back on Raidens forehead. The light from before shined brighter though, and began to encompass his whole body. "Whoa..." The guard said as we looked on. "Whoa is right, tin-pony." Axel said, though the jab seemed half-butted due to his attention being on the process in front of us. Scootaloo turned to me instead of watching, a question clear on her conscience. "Do you think we can trust this guy? He seems like Nicks grandad, but it sounded like he might have done some bad stuff before." She whispered to me, quiet enough to keep the others from listening in. "I'm not sure, but everyone deserves a chance to be better. And if he helps Raiden, then that's one less thing for us to worry about." I whispered back as the light disappeared, leaving behind Raiden, except now he had the dragon form back and looked way healthier than before. "Heh, looks like the boy got yer genes after all Erdrick." The man said as he turned back to us. "He'll wake up soon, and that means the princess will be here soon after." He started to walk towards the door but stopped as Scootaloo stepped towards him. "Your just going to leave? Your not even going to wait for him to wake up?" She asked as the man shook his head and lifted up the necklace. "Sorry, Lassie. I got a necklace to return to one of my grandchildren." He looked to Raiden and sighed. "Besides, he wouldn't want to see me anyway." With that, the man left the hospital room, leaving three shocked kids and a royal guard in his wake. "Um...does anypony know what just happened?" The guard asked as my mind was now flooded with results from the changeling tests Mother had given...though one operative didn't show up to the tests. Where the heck was Roxas? **************** Twilight POV **************** I yawned as my eyes slowly opened and I snuggled up to whatever pillow I had grabbed in my sleep. Taking in a deep breath, I smiled at the scent I was hit with was overwhelmingly pleasent. Mmmmm. How does this pillow smell so good? It's like a combination of sea salt, pepper, and...something else. I thought, frowning as my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness before my heart stopped cold. I wasn't snuggling a pillow, I was pressed up against RONIN! "Oh no oh no oh no!" I whispered repeatedly as I attempted to sit up only to realize Ronins arms were wrapped around me tightly. "Mmmm. Quit moving, Chrysalis. It's too late at night to be squirming around." Ronin muttered, stirring slightly due to my movement. After a moment or two, Ronin finally stopped mumbling and fell back asleep, allowing me to breath again as I stared at his face. Oh, thank goodness. I was worried he was going to wake up! I thought to myself, smiling as a small grin came across his face. He's kinda cute when he's sleeping like this. My eyes widened in shock and I immediately teleported out of his arms as I backed away from the couch he was sleeping on. CUTE?! He can't be cute! He's hurt other ponies, for Celestia's sake! Though, he has been trying to be better...not to mention he's had my back while we've been stuck here in Griffonia. I shook my head as I started to feel a weird heated feeling start to grow in my body.He's been so nice to me. He could've easily left me for dead or worse, but he didn't. He stuck by me even when those zombies appeared. I found myself staring at his face, noticing each defining feature on it. From the small lips and his almost pointed nose to the mane that rested on his neck. When we first met. his mane was almost non-existant with how short it was. Now it's almost as long as an average stallions! I thought with a quiet giggle as that heated feeling became stronger, causing me to frown as I noticed my tail was lifting slightly. Wait...why am I suddenly so warm? Usually this only happens when- My eyes widened in shock as the answer came to me. "I'm in heat." I whispered in shock. "Well, duh. I could tell by the show your giving me." I spun around and gasped as Opal smirked at me. "Opal! I-I-" I started to stammer out, but she shushed me. "Now now, Twilight. We don't want to wake your friend." She said, calming me down slightly as she put a hoof on my mouth, effectively stopping my breakdown. "Your acting like this is a big deal! Just wake your...stallion up and ask him to relieve you!" My face lit up like a tomato. "WHAT?! He's not my stallion! We're just here on business, that's all!" I whispered harshly, making the unicorn giggle. "Really? Because your eyeing him like he is." She said with a wide grin as I looked away, somehow blushing even deeper. "It couldn't work out anyway, even IF I liked him! He's got three mare's already, including your daughter, and even has a foal on the way." I said, feeling suprisingly down from what I had stated. I couldn't actually be crushing on Ronin...right? Just because he saved me earlier and I like waking up on top of him, cuddling his soft warm body and Sweet Celestia I DO like him!!! My eyes widened in shock as Opal shook her head. "Dear, it's obvious the stallion has a herd from what you both have said. And quite a decently sized one too. Now, he claimed you like some brother of his yesterday, but how deep does that infatuation go?" She asked me as I opened my mouth to answer before finding myself unable to. "I..." I trailed off, wondering if Raiden could ever like me back at all. He seemed to appreciate being around me, but was that only on a friendly level? That day when Luna had spoke to me alone, she had told me she'd convince Raiden to give me a chance, but what if he changed her mind? Heck, they could be together right now and I wouldn't even be on his mind at all! I turned back to Ronin, finding that a smile had slowly appeared on my face. Ronin, however, seemed to be focused on three things right now. Finding Grimbeak, Getting back to his herd, and protecting me. The question is could Ronin find the time and energy to like me, let alone love me when he has three other mares and a whole hive to take care of? Opal tapped my shoulder, making me face her again. "Twilight, you spaced out one me. Are you ok?" She asked with a tilted head as I sighed. "Honestly...I don't know. I'm going back to the guest bedroom to get some rest. Night." I told her, walking towards the door behind her that led to my original sleeping area of just a bed and a cabinet. I had a long night of thinking to do. I thought, Groaning slightly as the burning sensation ached at my lower regions. And this heat is only making this worse! ************** Ronin POV ************** "WAKE UP!!!" I heard a loud voice yell in my ear, causing me to fall off the couch and land on my side quite painfully. Looking up from the floor, I glared at the white feathered griffon who had woken me up. "Why the hell did you do that?" I growled, making Grazier laugh. "Because my darling wife told me to." He retorted before pointing towards the door. "We got a report from Glascow earlier that him and Bob have a small militia gathered at the ready by the castle. All we need to do is meet them there." I got up and nodded before looking back at the couch, noticing Twilight wasn't anywhere to be found. Noticing my gaze, Grazier smiled. "Your unicorn friend went ahead with Opal to the castle. Said something about her needing to keep her heat under control." The griffon shook his head as he walked outside. "Guess it won't be long until I'm getting jumped by Opal too." As he walked outside, I summoned my chestplate to my body as I thought about what Grazier had said. Heat? Didn't Raiden say something about that? I shrugged it off, following Graizer outside, where he was putting on some grey armour around his lower waist while it looked like he had a bow and a full quiver attached to his back. "You need any weapons, boy?" He asked me as he pointed to a barrel nearby that had several types of weapons to choose from. I walked over and looked them over, noticing several males, axes, and spears, but no swords that looked like mine back in Canterlot. Turning back to Grazier, I shook my head. "Yall don't got any Katanas, huh?" He frowned in response. "What the heck is a Katana?" He said, causing me to roll my eyes and look to the open gate between the walls of the city "Nevermind, I'll go with my bare hands. Shall we get going?" I asked. Graizer nodded and walked up to me. "Once you get through the gates, it's a straight walk to where the castle stands. Now, you said your dating my daughter, and I want to make sure your capable of protecting her. So, meet us at the castle in no less than two hours, aight." With that, he flew off over the gates, causing me to face-palm. "For fucks sake, really? The bird ditches me right off the bat?" I groaned, beginning my walk through the gates as I entered the town of Griffonstone. The town itself was, at best, a ruined version of ponyville. Almost all of the buildings were broken down or in ruins, and the few griffons I ran into in person were either old and uncaring or gave me glares from afar. Even the ground I walked on seemed to mirror the broken down shape of the town. Damn, this place is just about on its last legs. I thought as I looked at what looked to be an old statue of some king, though the amount of cracks and debris around the statue showed how little the people of this land cared about it. "What your staring at is our fallen king." An old voice called out to me, making me turn around to see an older griffon with darker feathers and wearing a fez walk up. "Excuse me?" I said, raising an eyebrow. The old Griffon put out his claw. "I'll tell ya the whole tragic tale...for a couple of bits!" He tells me, causing me to frown. Great...a haggler. I thought as I patted myself down, finding a pocket in my greaves where the bits I had earned working at the farm were sitting. I gave him a silver one as he smiled. "Much obliged, kid. Now, how much do you already know about our history?" He asked me as I recalled what Grazier had said about the idol. "I know you lost some idol due to the Antiarachnid invasion and Grimbeaks lack of caring, right?" I told him, causing him to nod. "Yes, that fool should've never became king. But he wasn't the original king though." The old coot laughed. "Oh nooo! Centuries ago, that griffon used to be a simple mechanic. His job was to create weapons and armour for our troops." "So how'd a simple mechanic become king?" I asked him as he sat down in front of the statue. "This statue represents our true king from long ago represents the king who brought us together, King Grover. He managed to convince us that we would be stronger together, and to throw away our greedy nature's for our country's benefit." The old bird coughed slightly. "But then one day, they found the kings body shredded on the throne, and during the ceremony the royal mechanic rose up and took over the throne with those horrid mechanized weapons he uses." The griffon looked away. "There are some living descendents of the rightful king...but they haven't been seen since they were trapped in the castle." This caused me to grit my teeth in anger. So Grimbeak managed to rise up as a tyrant from the start?! And he killed this country's one chance at happiness too! I looked past the statue and at the castle on the other side of town. "That's why I'm heading over there now. I plan on finishing him off for good." The griffon laughed. "You can't be serious!" I stared at him blankly. "You are, aren't you!" The man shook his head slowly before turning away. "If your serious about helping us...remember this: Grimbeak wiped out half of our population with his ultimate weapon, if you hear what sounds like a river flowing and your in the throne room...run." With that, the old man flew off, leaving me alone to chew on that thought. "Grims got a secret weapon? Shit, better warn the others then!" I said to myself, picking up my pace to a jog as I made my way to the castle. *************** 30 minutes later/Ronin POV *************** I came to a stop in front of castle entrance and noticed two things. One, Griffinstone was pretty much just a giant tree, and I was now near the top and could see all the way down to the peaks below. Two, Twilight and the others were already there at the gate waiting for me. Said unicorn ran up to me as soon as we made eye contact, though I noticed her face seemed flushed. "Ronin! You made it! I was so worried that something might happen!" She turns and glares at Grazier, who was currently getting an earful from his wife. "After Grazier told us he left you on your own to 'test' you, we thought you might get lost." I chuckled and scratched Twilights head, getting a small coo out of her as she pressed into my hand. "Relax, Bookworm, I'm alright. Besides, I actually got some good info about our target in town." I said as she looked up at through my hand and tilted her head. "Really? Like what?" I removed my hand, much to Twilights disappointment considering her pput she had when I did so, and looked up at the white castle in front of us. "Well, apparently Grimbeak took the throne from this guy named Grover, then wiped out half the population with some super weapon." I said, causing Twilights eyes to widen as she took a step back. "W-What?! Why would he do that?!" She exclaimed as I shrugged. "Don't know. Perhaps they didn't appreciate the idea of him ruling. Regardless, there's a chance he still has it, so we need to be careful." I said as we walked over to Opal and Grazier, who were talking to some of the griffons that were standing in lines of about thirty strong. "How did you two get here anyway? Aren't ponies forbidden in Griffonstone?" Opal turned to me and winked. "Honey, I control most of this town due to my...popularity among the griffon populace." She said as some of the griffons in the line snickered before Opal did a one-eighty death stare, causing them to shut up. "So no one dared to touch a hair on my or Twilights head." Twilight nodded. "And after we started spreading the word around that we were gonna stop Grimbeak, we started getting griffons who wanted to volunteer." I looked to the griffons in suprise, not expecting anyone to want to help. Grazier laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. "You've got a right to be suprised boy. The only reason they are helping is because every griffon here hates Grimbeak. In fact, I doubt anyone actually likes the old fart...except for perhaps a handful of birdbrains." I nodded. "Good, then the castle should be unguarded, then." I said, causing all the griffons to tense up. "Uh...what's wrong?" Glascow, who had been giving out maces to the griffons, turned to me. "Boy, just because no LIVING griffons are loyal to him, doesn't mean the dead ones aren't." Twilight turned green slightly. "What do you mean dead? You don't mean more zombies, right?" She asked, causing Opal to shake her head. "No, they are alive alright...but it's a fate worse than death. You know how Grimbeak has metal body parts right?' Twilight and I nodded. "Well, recently, the idiot has tried to replicate that on any griffons foolish enough to break into the castle. After that, the poor bird is never seen again...or worse yet, changed into a Meckon." Twilight frowned. "Meckon?" Grazier nodded. "It's what we call his metal guards. Don't know how he does it, but he found a way to fuse living things to machinery. And ever since his Equestrian supplier has been shipping him metal, the Meckon numbers have grown more than ever from the pitiful clawful they originally were to about twelve of them." I blinked in suprise. "Equestrian supplier? The only pony Grimbeak works with would be-" I growled. "Blueblood, that Ass!" Twilight narrowed her eyes, almost yelling in frustration. "I wondered what Grimbeak was getting out of helping out Blueblood, he's even worse than what Rarity said he was!" She said, causing me to look at her funny. "What does Rarity have to do with this?" I asked, curious to know why she was brought up. "She tried to 'swoon' him at a ball two years back, let's just say it didn't work out." She said before looking to Opal. "Can the Griffons inside the Meckon be saved?" Grazier looked at the castle and sighed. "We don't know. No one's been able to kill one yet, and the only one who could save them is their puppetmaster himself." He said as I turned and looked at the griffons in front of me. Most of them almost looked bored to be here, as if they were dragged here by force. However, my jaw dropped as I made eye contact with- GILDA?! "YOU!" I yelled as I felt a surge of pure hatred flow through me as my vision went red. The griffon looked me in the eyes before she turned and began to fly off quickly. "Ronin, what's going o-" Twilight said, but stopped for some reason as after a flash of black light occured I ran forward and jumped after Gilda, only to yell out in shock as I went several yards above her. What the hell?! I yelled out as I descended and grabbed Gilda on the way down, bringing her to the ground in a wave of dust. As it cleared, I picked her up by my right tentacle and began to choke her out. "RONIN?! Stop! Your going to kill her!" I heard someone yell, but I was too focused on the griffon in front of me. She sold me out to Grimbeak and is one of the reasons one of my changelings are DEAD! I roared before stopping as Twilight teleported in front of me, right next to the now purple Gilda, though it seemed odd that she was even shorter than before for some reason. "Ronin, I don't know how you transformed into...whatever that is, but you have to stop! PLEASE!" She exclaimed, causing me to see the fear in her eyes, bringing me to my senses. I dropped the griffon to the ground as I felt that same hatred leave my mind. The area around me went back to its normal colors and Twilight returned to normal height. The tentacle arm flashed black before becoming a human limb again as I looked from the Griffon to Twilight. "What...did I just do?" I asked as Twilight approached me slowly, almost as if she was afraid of what just happened. "You saw Gilda...then you became some sort of big black monster with tentacles for limbs. You were yelling and everything and I..." She trailed off as she wrapped her fore legsaround my waist in a big hug. "What was that, Ronin? Why did you become that thing?" Black tentacle monster? Why did I...oh shit that thing is back? "Twilight." I said, kneeling down and returning the hug. "I'm sorry for scaring you. You remember when Chrysalis changed forms, right?" I felt her nod into my chest. "Well, that happened because her and I became connected after her mom tried to force dark magic into my soul." Twilight pulled away and looked up at me in shock. "Long story. But the main thought was that it was all purged when the bond was made. Apparently not, though, since it just came out after I saw Gilda." Twilight frowned as she sniffled slightly. "But why did it come out now though?" I looked to Gilda, who was slowly getting up, and felt a smaller version of that hate reappear. "I think it comes out when I'm exposed to extreme hatred or negative feelings. I really have it out for her, so maybe that did it." I looked back to Twilight. "Thanks for stopping me, Twi." I released Twilight, not noticing the massive blush she had before I stood up and walked over to Gilda as she turned and looked me in the eyes. "You. Why the hell are you here if you used to work for Grimbeak?" I said harshly. Gilda narrowed her eyes at me. "That's none of your-" She stopped quickly as I growled, starting to see red. "Alright alright I'll tell you...just don't turn into that thing again!" The red disappeared as I nodded, letting her answer. "The reason I was helping Grimbeak is because he has my cousin in the castle. He said he'd free him if I helped him in Canterlot." She said as I crossed my arms. "Really? And why not bust him out yourself?" I asked, causing Gilda to look away. "Because he was made into a Meckon, that's why." She said, causing me to flinch in shock. "Oh...so all of this was because you were trying to help family?" I asked her as she returned a harsh glare to me. "Yeah, it was! Like you'd know anything about that!" She spat, causing me to sigh and motion to my body. "That thing you saw? This armour? That trial I was a part of? All because of me making similar decisions you did. Good ideas, horrid judgement. Now I've got to live with my mistakes. Hell, that's why I'm here!" I yelled, causing her to blink in suprise. "Wait, really? Your gonna topple the metalbeak?" She said as Opal and Grazier came over. "That's the plan, dearie." The unicorn said before looking at me. "Now Ronin, I don't know what in Tartarus that was before, but it may come in hoof in a minute when we storm the castle, but are you done picking fights so we can actually do what we came for?" She asked as I nodded, ready to go. Grazier smiled. "Good! We'll need everyone for this!" He turned to the griffons, who had been watching in shock the whole time. "Alright maggots! You just witnessed some of our power we're packing through the monkey boy here! Now, who wants to kill a tyrant!" Loud cheers erupted as Opal led Gilda over to Glascow and Bob to get a weapon while Twilight nuzzled my hand with her head. "Ronin...are you ok?" She asked me as I looked into her purple eyes and smiled, rubbing her mane. "Yeah. Let's finish this once and for all."