A couple of hours before Mac and Molly are transported to Crystal Cove by Discord. Mac is in the kitchen. He may no longer eat anything, telling him he can’t teach Muse how to survive on her own if she has to.
“Now Muse remember to write this down. I am going to teach you to make a cinnamon loaf. Are you ready?”
Muse nods.
“Alright now remember two cups of flour.”
I place the flour into the bowl to make sure she understands writing it down. She writes it on her pad looking up at me.
“Alright, the next. Now a lot of what we had in my world is different here fresher from what I can tell so the next cup of sugar. Make sure to add the right amount you don’t want too much. It will cause some of the taste to be overly sweet.”
I look around to make sure I have everything. I find it amazing that I do have everything for this bread. I grab the next thing for the bread looking down at Muse.
“Now two teaspoons of baking powder just again make sure it’s not too much. You don’t want to make the taste something you may not enjoy. Next would be cinnamon itself, make sure to grind it down.”
I grab the bowl with the crusher. Crushing down the cinnamon into powder adding both to the mix. I glance down watching Muse write down what is next. I smile, patting her head. I wish I could have had a little one with Molly but sadly we had to be dumb and become these robots. Oh well, at least I can try better now.
“Now a Teaspoon of salt.”
I put the salt into the bowl watching her write it down. She is in such a good mood I am happy for her. I sigh with no air coming out of my mouth. I feel I am finally doing something good in my life. I look around to grab the next piece of the recipe.
“Now give me a moment.”
I help Muse get on the stool so she can do the rest herself. I explain to her what is next and she grabs each thing with her magic.
“Yes, one cup of buttermilk. Good now place that in.”
She places it in and grabs the next step. I watch her close hearing the door open and close hearing hooves trotting in. I look down seeing a little filly the same age as Muse. I glance at her and lower myself to the new little filly enough.
“Hi, may I help you?”
The filly smiles weakly looking at what Muse is doing. She is placing the rest of the piece of the ingredients into the bread. She looks down at the filly jumping from the stool to the floor taking the bowel with her in her magic and mixing it.
“I am Diamond Tiara. I am a friend of Muse. Discord showed up and told Molly he found a way into a village I don’t know what is up since I am too young to care. My mother asked me to fetch Muse so we could take care of her while you two are gone.”
I sigh softly, shaking my head.
“So you have the mother who.”
She nods.
“I am sorry about my mother,'' I told her after we got home, saying all that wouldn’t end well. I was born into riches and I am starting to wonder if it was a good idea to be born in such splendor after what Molly told me about you two.”
I smile weakly nodding.
“Yes, it’s hard for the two of us to get away from our past. Since Chance and Jake are in this world too. We used to fight them all the time when we tried so hard to take over the city. To get back at them for what they did to us. At least it’s what we told ourselves each time.”
I look at Muse stroking her back with my robotic claw.
“Are you okay with staying with them?”
Muse sets down the bowel writing on her pad.
“You want to stay with Jake and Chance? Diamond, does it bother you that she wants to stay with others she knows better than your parents?”
Diamond chuckles.
“Oh not at all. I will take her there and tell my father who she is with. I wonder if Jake and Chance can be trusted though?”
I quickly nod.
“Yes, they can be. Go take her to your parent's house for a while.”
____________
The eyes of Diamond Tiara.
After Mac is done telling me what to do he vanishes and I look over to Muse who looks sad seeing Mac leave. I gently pat her shoulder with my hoof.
“It’s okay, I will make sure my mother is kind to you. Also, bring whatever you have in that bowl.”
Muse nods. I leave the house and she follows me. I watch her turn to lock everything to make sure everything is locked. I don’t get it why is she locking everything? I will have to ask her while we walk to my home. She lifts the bowel and we both head through the town.
“Why did you lock the door?”
Muse lifts her pad writing on it. She lifts it enough to show me so I can read it.
“It’s a reaction to the world they came from. They know this land is peaceful but they’re worried that an elite pony tries to do something and take me from them. Because they’re so full of themselves thinking they can raise me better.”
I sigh deeply looking away. I don’t blame the two kats for disliking how the elites run themselves. I can notice they have big issues with them. I look over to Muse worrying if I bring her into the house.
After a while, we get to my house and when we walk in I notice my mother has her mouth back. She looks down hatefully at the little Muse. I look at my father keeping an eye on my mother from the corner of my eye to make sure she doesn’t do or say anything to Muse.
“Daddy Muse is not going to stay here. She doesn’t feel safe so I am going to take her to the junkyard to stay with Chance and Jake. She feels safer with them.”
My father tilts his head.
“Oh is there a reason for that little Muse?”
Muse lifts the pad to him and he frowns, lowering his ears and nodding.
“I hope someday you can trust us, Muse.”
Muse looks to my mother and then back to my father. I know why she doesn’t feel safe. It's because of my mother.
“Maybe she doesn’t feel safe because those kats brainwashed her.”
I turn my head to glare at my mother.
“Mom, for once in your life shut up.”
My father stares angrily at me. Then look at my mother.
“Dear, maybe it’s wise if you say nothing for now. Let Muse make her own choices if she doesn’t feel safe with us it’s okay.”
Muse keeps the bowel close to her. She walks to the door but before she does she turns to stare with so much anger at my mother. She is trying to speak finally.
“...My…Mother…gave..me to them.”
She was able to spout out. She tried to say more but her ability to speak left her. She left the house and I followed her.
“Diamond, why are you following her?!”
I turn quickly to my mother.
“To make sure she makes it there safely. Mother, you need to know when not to talk. She lost her mother during the Storm King raid, and you act as if you know better for her. You don’t. You’re just a rich mare who thinks she knows better than everypony else to get a grip you don’t.”
I walk towards the door.
“Fine.”
My mother sounds defeated. I look back at her. She is frowning and looks sad. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings so I turned back to her.
“Look mother I love you but please you can’t fix this issue. The only way you could is if you could bring the dead back to life. All you can do is make her feel worse. Now I will be back after I get her to Chance and Jake.”
I trot out of the house to catch up to Muse and walk beside her. She has tears falling down her face. I lean into her as we walk.
“Hey, don't worry about my mother. I am sorry she is not kind to you. I will do my best to work on it with her.”
All Muse did was lean into me crying softly to herself. I notice Silverspoon coming over to talk to us.
“Hello Diamond.Muse? Is she okay?”
I shake my head.
“Come with me to the junkyard, I will explain on the way.”
I explain to Silverspoon what is going on while we walk to the junkyard and we walk into the junkyard noticing the scanner they put up looking at us. Before the scanner could do anything it was turned off. Shadow Rose brings her head out of the large building.
“Sorry about that, Chance keeps forgetting to turn it off.”
Chance growls from inside.
“I don’t forget we don’t need every pony to come in here all the time.”
Shadow Rose laughs.
“Oh come on Chance it’s good for you now come on girls.”
The three of us made it in and Muse quickly set the bowel down, rushing to Jake and jumping into his lap sobbing in his chest.
“Whoa whoa, what's wrong?”
Muse just squeaks loud enough and Chance looks over to Muse. I have never seen Chance so angry. I have spoken to him and tried to be kind to him. He turns to look at me. He leans down.
“Did Molly or Mac do something to her?”
I shook my head.
“No, my mother insulted them in front of her. She took it very personally.”
Shadow Rose glares at Chance. He lifts his head smirking weakly. Shadow Rose points to Chance to pick up the bowel. She trots over to Muse lifting her in her magic and holding the little one close to her.
“Shhh shh it’s okay, why are you here?”
I sigh
“She feels safer here with you than my parents while Molly and Mac are gone. My mother has too much of a mouth and she can’t help herself.”
Shadow Rose snorts.
“I don’t care how rich she is, it gives her no right to make Muse feel this way.”
I sigh knowing I am in for it when I get home.
“I need to head back home please take care of Muse while they’re gone.”
The two kats promise.
“Oh, I will make sure they take care of her.”
Shadow Rose glares at Chance.
“Right?!”
Chance gulps.
“Yes sir.”
I laugh softly heading out of the junkyard with Silverpoon tailing me.
“Diamond, wait.”
I stop turning to look at Silver.
“What is going on where I haven’t seen Molly and Mac all day is something wrong?”
I sighed, shaking my head.
“I don’t know what it is. It has something to do with some village which got taken over a while ago. I don’t know. I wish I could understand more. But they're part of a squad which goes into places where friendship and harmony won’t work.”
Silver Spoon grunts.
“Great.”
I trot home with my first friend not far behind me waving at the cutie mark crusaders as we go.
_____________
The Eyes of Molly
This old cove seems to be half underwater and hasn't been used in many years. It’s easy to tell they didn’t know whoever took this place over didn’t know about this place. Mac and I walk through the old cavern looking at what is left behind from the past.
“A place like this brings back memories doesn’t it Molly? We used to use places like this back in our world to smuggle. I wonder what they used it for.”
We find an old box that is open. Opening it up we see these strange crystals. They look like crystals that could absorb magic into them and be used to fight a war with unicorns. I wonder if these were going to be used for that.
“Careful Molly I heard stories of earth ponies using their magic to homestead places like these. So sometimes the magic would cause some parts of the earth to come alive and take us on.”
I laugh weakly.
“Now you told me who told you this?”
Mac chuckles.
“Thank Twilight for having a library on all pony history they were able to record back in the day. It was mentioned but it also said it’s not an evil spell. It's just not fond of trespassers.”
We make it through the old smuggler's cove noticing a trap door that seems to open to the inn when we get up there we get attacked by one of the pony guards but I grab the weapon with my hand.
“Whoa, it’s okay Brack, these aren’t those who attacked us.”
A candle is lit and we see many ponies in the inn.
“Huh, many of you escaped?”
A bee on two legs comes out of the crowd.
“I am Sting. I came here with the invasion force. My queen has done enough to destroy another land she doesn’t need to destroy another. So I lied to her and my swarm that I was taking these ponies to Squint.”
I glance at Mac
“What can you tell us about what is going on here?”
Sting shrugs his shoulders.
“All I can tell you is what I know. It’s a joint effort with many old threats from an entirely new land so far away from here. Now you found a way out of here?’
We look at the trap door.
“Yes, but do they know Squint has these ponies?”
Brack sighs.
“He had to let some of the ponies go to Squint so they wouldn’t try to hunt for us. Those are now dead; they knew what they signed up for. He eats them when he is given them and that’s all we see. We don’t know who else is here, just these bees and the squid. “
Mac looks at Sting.
“Do you think you could get these survivors all out of here?”
Sting nods.
“I could but there are deeper in the village and this is the only part of the village which is not flooded so I want to come back and help you free the rest. It may take a few hours then I will help you find your way through here.
I look at Mac.
“Yes we have a deal we will stay here and watch just in case someone gets the idea there are prisoners here or do they not care?”
Sting shrugs.
“I don’t know.”
Sting opens the trap door and leads the survivors out. I look out the window which is not boarded up and the entire town is a mess. I see many bodies floating in the water. I see the bees and strange sea life going through like they’re on patrol
I sit down in a chair with Mac not far from me while we think of what to do and how to get us home for Muse.
Molly and Muse made it into Crystal Cove when they met a traitor. A traitor they think they can trust. They wait while the survivors escape through the tunnel. Then they will go full force with the traitor to find out what is going on.
Will they find out what is going on? Is there something wrong with the survivors? Could they be survivors for a reason? Who knows to find out in the next Katastic chapter of Swat Kats?