Tales of Apple Scratch: The Dracan War.

by Mariacheat-Brony

Equestria assembles its fleet

The four Council members were in a small circular room in which half a dozen chairs were placed around a small table with biscuits, a teapot and a few cups. Shadow still had yet to arrive. Since she lived in the Castle, Snowdrop had been there to welcome each of her fellow Council members. Even in her blindness, the white-haired Jupitarian couldn’t help to notice that only Sombra was presentable among her friends.

While she couldn’t see it to be sure, Snowdrop was convinced that Daring’s attire wasn’t in good condition. The treasure hunter had a faint odor of dirt, dust and a fairly distinct doggy smell, oddly enough. When she arrived, a few seconds after Sombra popped into the room, she tossed him something, claiming that he owed her big time.

Manuella, or Mane as they all called her, reeked of alcohol and sweat, and if the sounds of her hair waving and touching everything around with excitement were of any indications, Snowdrop could deduce it was a mess. Though, Mane’s hair was always some sort of a mess. As soon as she spotted the explorer, the green-haired happily shouted Daring's name, then tackled and embraced in a bear hug.

At the table, next to Snowdrop, King Sombra was busy munching on a sugary treat in a childlike manner while observing the gemstone Daring had brought back with her. Nothing really fitting of a king, but since his wife wasn’t there to reminding him of proper etiquette, he didn’t have to care. At least not too much, as he knew that the girls of the Council would rat him out to Gleaming Topaz if it was needed.

On its other side of the table, Mane was hugging and nuzzling Daring deeply, much to the explorer’s annoyance as she was busy scolding the long-haired woman for going out drinking and fighting in the dock’s taverns during her absence. Though, the scolding lasted only for a few seconds before Daring sighed in defeat and took a brush out of her backpack and started to use it on the Eponian’s hair hoping to tame that tangled mess of green.

The group remained mostly silent while waiting for the last Council member. No other sounds than Snowdrop’s occasional giggling responses to Mane’s whimpers of pain whenever Daring brushed her hair a little too hard was heard until the characteristic woosh sound of teleportation.

Shadow Kicker greeted her friends with a big smile as she walked out of the pale, purple light of the spell that had brought her here. Soon after, Snowdrop grabbed her walking shepherd crook and walked out of the room, waving her friends to go after her.

“So,” Sombra let out as he walked up to Snowdrop while the three other women were following behind. “Do you have any clue as to what’s going on?”

“There was another Dracan incursion two nights ago,” the blind herald explained softly. “Come to think, it was more of two incursions…” she added with a defeated sigh.

“Damn!” Daring muttered sourly. “Where did they strike this time?”

“A small fleet attacked the new town of Vanhoover as a diversion for a much larger one that was sailing to Horseshoe Bay,” Snowdrop replied matter-of-factly. “The Lunar Guard was deployed before they could deal too much long term damage in Vanhoover.” She let out a pained sigh. “Many civilian lives were lost though…”

“...What about Horseshoe Bay?” Daring asked slowly while the three others voiced/growled their hatred of the Dracan Kingdom.

“I don’t know actually,” Snowdrop answered softly, much to everyone’s surprise. “Princess Luna asked us to head back to Canterlot before heading over there on her own. I haven’t talked to her since then.”

“So you don’t know why we were called?” Shadow asked casually as the blind woman was leading them to the large conference room in the castle’s East tower.

“Hum-hum.” Snowdrop shook her head in response while her staff touched the large mahogany door. “All I know is that we won’t only meet the Princesses… and it might get a bit louder than what we’re used to.” she added before reaching for the handle with a bit of difficulty.

When she finally opened the door, the Council’s ears were assaulted by the din of dozens of conversations happening at the same time. As they walked in the room, they noticed that the Princesses had also called the most famous figures of the Royal Guard along with a few high rank Nobles.

Celestia and Luna were both sitting on their thrones, respectively golden and silvery, letting everyone discuss between them as they were waiting for the Council to arrive. From each side of the two thrones, three comfortable and regal chairs stood. The three at Luna’s left side were empty while the closest to Celestia’s right side was occupied by an old man with a greying beard and matching long hair, wearing a long, red robe. He seemed to only receive dark stares from the rare people in attendance that were glancing in his direction.

The Council members recovered from entering into the loud room and made way for their spots. Snowdrop, Sombra and Shadow sat at Luna’s left, the blind woman right next to monarch, while Daring and Mane headed for the seats at Celestia’s right side. When he saw the two women approach, the old man stood up to leave the chairs closest to the Sun Princess for them.

“Thanks, Hindel,” Mane said in a smiling nod of her head as she sat between him and Daring.

“You’re welcome, Lady Manuella,” Hindel replied politely with his very guttural accent, slightly bowing at her.

His behavior only earned him sneers and angry comments from the closest nobles while Celestia was calling for silence. One was whispered loud enough for him and the two Councilwomen to hear.

“… Two wild beasts going along is not that surprising!” A young prince commented, glaring at Mane and Hindel.

The old man blinked in shock and surprise when he saw the eyes of the green haired lady before him turning from a casual, cheerful glint to a deep sadness and hurt. Hindel knew he was nothing but a guest in the Castle, but he would not tolerate such conduct despite the Princesses strongly advising him to keep a low profile. While he turned around to tell the minor prince off, he saw that someone had already beaten him to it.

On the desk of the Baltimare’s Prince, a large, ghostly white tiger had rested his forepaws and was roaring threateningly at him, causing the noble to shriek loudly before falling on the ground.

“DARING!” Celestia snapped to the woman at her right.

“....Sorry,” the explorer muttered sourly as her feral familiar vanished into thin air, not looking sorry at all.

“...Well, now that we have your full attention,” Luna commented casually, noticing that the feline’s roar had at least brought the silence in the assistance. “Let’s focus on the purpose of this Assembly.” The Baltimare’s prince was about to open his mouth. “Your wounded pride can and will wait, Prince Manfred,” she added sternly, earning a smirk from the explorer who was rubbing Mane’s back soothingly.

“As you all know,” Celestia began after the prince sat back with a frown. “The number of Dracan incursions has been increasing over the last three years.” She paused when all the assembly’s eyes gave dark stares in Hindel’s direction, she licked her lips in frustration. “..... I have discussed the matter with my sister and OUR Dracan ally, Hindel!” she added strongly, her voice much more colder than what they were used to. “And we’ve reached the conclusion that Hindel’s former kingdom must have an advanced harbor from where they launch their attacks close to our shores.”

The supposition was met by a brouhaha of shocked gasps and angry growls, and a few dark stares aimed at the Princesses’ Dracan advisor.

“How come he hasn’t mentioned it before?” A tall man with black hair and a strong Manehattenite accent asked in a neutral tone.

“Well,” Luna started with a sigh before Hindel could finish his standing up motion. “Since he’s hasn’t been in contact with the Kingdom of Draconia for nearly a decade, he’s hardly aware of their plans.”

“That’s what he says,” another noble commented slowly.

“And that’s what we’re telling you once again, Baronet Sparkle,” Celestia replied coldly. “We’re not here to convince you of Hindel’s truthfulness. His actions against his former Kingdom are more than enough to prove his loyalty to us!”

“Loyalty from the one who betrayed his country,” Sparkle muttered in his beard, though not low enough for Luna to not hear it.

"Whatever reasons Hindel had for leaving Draconia, are only for him to know, Baronet," the Night Princess retorted. "And may I remind you that as a honorific council member, disrespecting him is the same as disrespecting us!"

The noble’s defiant expression quickly faltered at those words, and he promptly looked at his feet in shame. The Moon Princess stared at the whole audience, silently asking them if they had anything to add on the matter. When no one voiced any concern they might have, Celestia cleared her throat.

“Now, two things matter. The most important one is to find and destroy that harbor. Without it, the Dracan fleets would have no more starting point for their attacks on our shores, and we would gain a good surveillance port to ensure our nation’s safety,” Celestia explained in a martial tone. “To make a long story short, we’re bringing the war to the Dracans instead of them bringing it to us!”

“We’re asking you to gather all the soldiers available!” Luna added before the nobles and officers started to whisper among themselves about.

“Highness, if I may interject!” Admiral Philharmonica called loud enough to be heard through the conversations. “We do not have the resources to assemble a fleet large enough for what you’re asking.”

“The admiral is right,” Hindel admitted slowly, causing all gazes to turn in his direction. “From what I witnessed, you don’t have enough adequate ships to go through the usual defenses that are standard in Dracans harbors, at least from what I remember.” Celestia cocked an inquiring eyebrow at the old Dracan. “What I mean is that they have dragons among their defenses: water dragons that waits at the bottom of the sea to sink any approaching, enemy ships; dragonlings that would burn down every ship not bearing the scent of their masters…”

“Couldn’t we just reinforce our ships with metal?” Daring asked softly. “Most of the Dracan vessels are made of metal right?” She turned to Hindel who nodded in response. “We could just do that.”

“That would take months, no years for your kind to build an armada of vessels sturdy enough to resist a water dragon’s bite or dragonfire in general.” Hindel commented with a shake of his head, surprisingly earning approving nods from the assembly. “And all that without losing too much maneuverability and speed.”

Many in attendance agreed with the Dracan’s claim, Luna even bit her lip nervously. The only two that didn’t seem to be fazed by this situation were Princess Celestia who kept a calm expression and Shadow Kicker who had leaned back on her chair with her eyes closed, like during all the official meetings that didn’t concern her line of work directly. She didn’t like to argue about matters she knew nothing of.

“Shadow?” Celestia called the blacksmith with a small grin. “What do you think of that idea?”

“Using our traditional craft, it’s impossible to realize, Princess,” Shadow replied matter-of-factly, looking like she was about to take a nap right during the Assembly.

Celestia simply glanced at the laid-back blonde for a few seconds. “And how long would it take you to have a prototype ready by your own craft?”

Shadow slowly open her right eye to glance at the two thrones’ direction. “.... Would you accept my proposition on the changes of wedding laws?”

Celestia’s grin slowly turned into a knowing smirk as the whole crowd of Nobles and Hindel blinked in confusion at Shadow’s question. Luna and the Council, on the other hand, knew what the blacksmith was referring to, and had turned their shocked, gaping faces to the Sun Princess.

“No! But, we might make an exception for you… As a war reward of some sort,” Celestia replied slowly.

“........ Give me the control of all Cloudsdale’s Cloud-shapers and access to Manehatten’s blast furnaces, and you’ll have your armada built and ready for departure by the end of Winter,” Shadow stated calmly, her blue eye slowly closing itself while a very happy smile made its way on her face.

“...... WHAT?!” All the attendance but Celestia asked in a shocked shout.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Soon after the end of Winter, in Manehatten’s industrial harbor…

“.... I can’t believe she actually did it,” Daring whispered in awe.

“Me neither,” Sombra commented in shock, his foot tapping the dark grey surface he was standing on.

“I don’t know why you two are so surprised,” Snowdrop remarked. “You know that Shadow can do a lot with the proper motivation… And I must say that Celestia authorizing her wedding with Senator Dash’s four daughters was probably the strongest incentive she ever had.”

“I wish I could have seen the face of Dash when his daughters told him,” Mane let out with a chuckle from the mast she was hanging from.

“Equestrians are weird,” Hindel commented casually, his eyes fixed on Shadow saying goodbye to her four, recently wedded, blonde wives. “Amazingly talented and all, but weird!” he added and no one thought of telling him otherwise.

Ever since the Assembly a few months ago, Shadow had rarely been seen out of the industrial furnaces along with more than four hundreds Cloud-shapers and blacksmiths alike. What exactly she had been doing, none of the Council members had a clue, for only Hindel had been admitted inside to test the resilience of what she was smithing inside.

The only time they saw her was when they attended her wedding ceremony. The Council, Hindel, Luna and Celestia had been the only guests on Shadow's side while the quadruplet wives' guests were barely more numerous as only a few of their close friends who already knew of their relationship with the renowned blacksmith. They could have asked about Shadow's project on that occasion, but it wasn't really the place, nor the time to do so.

Thus, many were surprised when the Princesses ordered the mobilization of the troops to Manehatten harbors. Many more thought that Shadow didn’t succeed and that it would result in embarrassing the Princesses. The result was quite an embarrassment alright, though only for Shadow’s critics.

When the commanders of Equestria’s Navy, including the Fleet Admiral Philharmonica, saw the hundred of galleons with hulls made of Shadow’s latest creation, the Pecunimbus : an alloy obtained by the combination of rainclouds, molten silver and iron, resulting in a metal light as a feather but tough as the strongest armor. A cloud dense enough that Eponians and Titanians could stand on it without the need of cloud-walking spells or amulets.

Now, hours after Shadow’s first demonstration, which consisted in throwing Sombra and Mane on the closest ship with a strong gush of wind, Equestria’s army was embarking on the cloud-made ships, ready to explore the seas in search of the Dracan outpost. Much to everyone’s surprise, the Council of Harmony decided to put out to sea as well.

Nothing would turn Daring off a chance to explore outside of Equestria’s territory, not even the dangerous circumstances of this journey, and Mane would be bald before she let the closest person she had for a sister go in a war zone without her. Snowdrop’s position as Herald of the Night Princess made it mandatory for her to go wherever Luna, who was leading the fleet with her sister, went. Sombra had to go to maintain the magical links between the mirrors Celestia had ordered him to create for communication purposes. Shadow, for her part, wanted to see her babies in action.

“We’ll miss you, Love,” One of Dash’s daughters whispered as she nuzzled her and her sisters’ wife with affection.

“Stay out of trouble, Darling,” another added in a small cry before she landed a peck on her blacksmith’s forehead.

“Return home soon, Honey,” the third demanded in a pleading voice, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The fourth simply pulled Shadow into a tight hug, burying her nose in her lover’s neck. Shadow passed her arm around before signaling her sisters to join them. As the four platinum blonde heads leaned against the blacksmith’s sturdy torso, Shadow laid an affectionate kiss on each of their foreheads and hugged them with strength.

“I will return, my beauties. I swear that I will return to you all!” Shadow assured softly.

The five women remained like that for a few minutes, ignoring the more than jealous stares various soldiers giving to Shadow, until a foghorn rang a deep note through the harbor. The Jupitarian craftswoman stepped back from her wives, holding their hands between her own before taking off to land on the rear deck of the admiral ship.

“Sombra….” Shadow called softly as the boat glided away from the ground.

“Yes?” The Crystal King took his eyes away from his Queen that was waving in his direction.

“Are you feeling like me right now?” the blacksmith asked, her thumb touching the silver band with the four yellow gemstones embedded on it that adorned her ring finger.

“Like a part of your heart is being torn away?” Sombra asked with a sad, knowing expression.

“.....Yeah,” Shadow replied with a sigh as her lovers were becoming small dots in the horizon.

“Shadow, my dear,” Celestia said gently as she walked to the Council member’s side. “If you want to stay, no one would hold it against you. You’ve done more than enough already.”

“I heard you the first time you said so, Highness,” Shadow replied in a low tone. “I’d rather be here to be certain that all the ships are well and that no random Cloud-shaper messes with my Shapes,” she explained softly. “Besides, I have a few tricks to show to the Dracan fleet.”

“I think we all have, Shadow,” Snowdrop said with a small grin before she heard the other Council members and Hindel nod in agreement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One week or two later, in the middle of the ocean,

"Tågen er ligeså tyk som ærtesuppe..." [This fog is as thick as a pea soup....]

"Helt enig!" [Totally agree!]

The Dracan sailors were discussing about the thick fog that surrounded their fleet, only letting them see the other ships because of the lanterns they kept attached to the stern. It wasn’t unusual for them to sail across a patch of fog, and since they were still far from land, the wouldn’t need to worry too much. They kept heading forward until they heard a loud but deep boom coming from the skies.

"Torden? Men der var ingen skyer i himlen bare for få minutter siden!" [Thunder? But there weren't any clouds in the sky just minutes ago!] the first mate called in confusion.

"Se! Lyset på kommandørens skib falder længere ned mod vandet... Kommandørens skib er ved at synke!" [Look! The light on the Commander's ship is falling closer to the water... The commander's ship is sinking!] Another mate pointed at the lantern of the closest vessel before it vanished under the water.

“Meow?!”

All the crew on the deck snapped their head in direction of where the sound came from, finding a fluffy white cat sitting casually on the ship’s rail.

"Er det... en kat?" [Is that… a cat?] The boat’s captain let out in a dumbfounded expression.

The fluffy feline strouted along the rail, all eyes focused on him before they saw the cat nuzzled a booted leg. They all looked up and saw a tanned woman wearing khaki shorts and shirt and a cream pith helmet above her black and grey locks.

“Gentlemen,” Daring called with smirk. “Prepare to be boarded!” she said before flaring her sandy wings wide open.

The wind summoned by the explorer scattered the fog around the Dracan vessel, giving its crew a clear view of what was happening. On top of the mast of their sinking commander ship, stood another Jupitarian woman, dark grey wings casually open on her back and a huge warhammer, whose head coursed with electricity, resting on her shoulder.

On the port side of their former leading boat, they saw a huge iceberg forming itself instantly before it ripped a frigate’s hull open on nearly all its length while someone with snow white wings was flying nearby along with many deep blue armored soldiers.

Another of their frigates was on the receiving end of a dark, silvery ship’s ramming. The unknown vessel’s had a gigantic, red, crystal shard on its bow that shone brightly when it crash against the Dracan hull, setting it ablaze almost instantly.

“You really should look this way!” Mane called the Dracans with a mad giggle as she landed next to Daring, her hair whipping the air around with excitement.

They looked at the green-haired woman’s direction, seeing that a huge, silver-made vessel, at least twice the size of their own, had emerged from the dissipating fog, its flag bearing the blue and white alicorns flying in circle symbol, the symbol of Equestria’s royalty.

All the Dracans shivered in fear when they saw Princess Luna, clad in her midnight blue armor, her teal eyes narrowed like those of a feline, appeared at the Equestrian ship’s rail quickly followed by many lighter armored sailors, all with their cutlasses, spears, bows and crossbows out.

At one command of their Princess, the Equestrian roared before they jumped aboard the Dracan frigate and at the same time, Daring’s ghostly predators appeared from her whistle and lunged forward along with Mane whose expression was even more feral than that of the ethereal tiger.

The last things the ship’s captain saw before his throat was ripped off by the ghost panther were the huge armada of silvery vessels that came out of the fog after the one that was boarding his ship. Equestria had come to make war, and it was a lot more prepared for it than what the Dracans had planned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elsewhere,

A man suddenly snapped his head in direction of his window. He narrowed his deep purple, reptilian irises at the sea that lie open before his castle windows. Humming casually in a deep voice, he stood up from his luxurious chair and walked closer to the glass separating him from the outside.

"Min herre, er alt som det skal være?" [My lord, is everything alright?] His butler and personal advisor asked in confusion.

His master had suddenly stopped paying attention to the report he was giving him not a few seconds ago. It was a fairly unusual for him to do so, as his master was keen on knowing whatever happened in the lands he was in charge of.

The butler glanced above his master’s muscular shoulder, seeing the white-haired, still young face of the one he had sworn to serve many years ago. His master snorted before facing the, at least in appearance, older man in the room.

"Sammel Jarlerne!” [Gather the Thanes!] Thane Lord of Draconia, Arrogon the Destroyer ordered in a stern, yet calm voice. "Vi får gæster." [We’re going to have guests!] he added with a small grin full of malice before the butler bowed and exited the room.

Author's Note:

That took a lot more time than planned to be updated... It's getting harder to find time to write lately.
But I'm still alive and writing, just a much slower pace than before
(then again, passing from a 3-4 hours of lectures to 8-9 hours of internship a day reduces free time......logically)

Anyway, short transition chapter before the epicness rises... (yeah, it's going to escalate quickly.)

What are your thoughts on this chapter?
I get the feeling that I could have made it better, but I couldn't think of anything to change or to add... *shrugs*

What do you think of Shadow's craft? Pretty neat, don't ya think?

Don't hesitate to comment!

I hope you've enjoyed it

Mariacheat-Brony

BEFORE I FORGET: Thank you to G3K0771 for editing the whole shebang! And to Kapuchu for being the Apple Scratch verse's official Equestrian to Dracan translator

Comments

[emist1]

Thank you so much for updating! I can't wait for the next chapter. This one felt short, but I loved it. I wonder if there is going to be a play at diplomacy, or if it will just be a straight up rampage. The latter, I hope.

[fredford312]

Great chapter
Looking forward to the next one
And take all the time you need to make your stories as great as they can be we can and will wait for your perfection ...

[fredford312]

4197243 heh. Me too

[ZoraHusk]

This keeps getting better and better. Well done!

[Extravagaunte]

So far so good, I just have one problem. The introduction of Daring Do needs to be changed. As far as the reader knows the Diamond Dogs were minding their own business, and Daring broke into their kingdom and tried steal their royal treasures for a reason she didn't explain. If the Alpha brought this to Celestia, Daring Do would have no defense because she was entirely at fault.

[Mariacheat-Brony]

4200080
Might be true, but I based the Verse Diamond dogs very closely to their canon interpretation: in which they try to enslave ponies to find gemstones...
Though, I haven't really developed that race in the Verse's group... Might be a good idea to do so

Anyway, glad you liked it

[keam]

This. Was
- Epic?
- Epic!
How is it going with onward to the Equestria games?
Also before I forget it
"Vi får gæster."
This really makes me curios, what language (if any) is the Drakan language inspired by?