12- Ironscale
Bound by Scales- Ironscale
Point of View: Ken
After a while with introducing Pinkis and the rest of the girls, things were able to settle down for a little bit. However, I had the odd suspicion that Brutalight introducing herself to the townsfolk in Obsidian Hollow was going to cause some sort of disturbance when my Twilight would show up. I wasn’t predicting the worst with the current circumstances, but I just had a bad feeling that leaving the six of them unsupervised was not a good idea. Especially with the amount of trouble they might cause given that over half of the temple had not been explored yet.
It wasn’t until fifteen minutes after coming back that I felt the presence of another Displaced calling me. However, this one was strangely familiar. It was almost like… Connor. No wait, that can’t be right. Last time I was at his world, he turned into an iron statue to protect himself. Still, if this was him, I couldn’t just refuse to see him again. But I can’t always assume that something was who I thought it was going to be. That just borderlines the definition of insanity. Doing the same exact thing, but expecting something to change.
I noticed Applejack walk over to me. She must’ve noticed my reaction to the shift in the room as she looked at me. “Yer gettin’ summoned again? That’s twice in one day.”
“Yeah, but something is different about this one.” I told her, looking back at her as I adjusted my shoulderbag. “Remember when I told you about Connor a few weeks ago?”
“What about it, hun?” She asked me, looking at me with a confused look on her face. Only did it sink in a bit that she looked at me now with a raised eyebrow. “Wait a sec… You’re not thinking that…”
“He’s free? I’m not sure. But it feels exactly the same as when Connor called on me before.” I told her. “I did leave his Celestia and Luna my token for if he returns. Do you think somepony might’ve stumbled upon it or something?” Her reaction was a shrug as she looked back at me, grinning a little.
“Only one way to find out. However, what do you think we should do with Pinkis and the others?” She asked me. Around then, I noticed the doors to Revaan’s chambers open as he stepped out and looked at us. Now… that gave me an idea.
“Hey Revaan,” I said, catching his attention. “Mind keeping an eye on Pinkis and the others for a bit? I’m getting summoned again and Applejack is coming with me.” He nodded his head, ensuring that they won’t be causing a ruckus while he was watching over the six of them and that if we needed him for anything, don’t be afraid to summon him. I took it into consideration, but given what happened with the Homeworld gems, I rather not have him causing a panic in the middle of Canterlot again. Or wherever we might show up for that matter. With that out of the way, they now only had one thing left to do.
Take a deep breath and just let the summoning pull you away.
Point of View: Connor and Scratch
Scratch, Spike, and I climbed over the mountain ridge, the three of us looking over the large expanse of mountains and valleys that marked the border between Griffonstone and Equestria. “Alright guys, we’ve climbed and hiked for a while. How about a break?” I said, earning a groan of agreement from the drake and a nod from Scratch. I chuckled at Spike. “Hey, you made the choice to come with us and help get this nation back together.” Spike gave a sigh. “Yeah I know. I just figured it would be a lot...I don’t know….less mountain-y” He said, gesturing to the mountain range. I gave a laugh. “Dude, there’s a saying in my world. Rome wasn’t built in a day.” At his quizzical look I relented. “Rome was this massive city of amazing architecture and systematic genius. Basically, the greatest things take time, planning, and a lot of effort before they are finished. And brother, we are trying to bring an ancient kingdom back into power. It’s gonna be a while.” I smiled, sitting on an outcropping of rock.
Scratch nodded. “Indeed. Though knowing that there is a potential contact that may be willing to help us in the Griffonian mountains is a big help. Someone who remembers the empire is bound to be a respected dragon.” Spike gave a smile, nodding. “Yeah, you guys are right. Plus, if I’m gonna be the king one day, I gotta learn to deal with a little headache and muscle ache now and then.” He said with a laugh. I nodded, the mention of the king and the past bringing back some memories. I thought for a bit before giving a smile. “Hey Spike. How’d you like to meet a friend of mine from back then.” I said.
Spike blinked. “But didn’t you say that there was the chance that all the dragons you knew back then gave their lives in the war?” I nodded. “True, but I’m not exactly talking about a dragon here.” I said, pulling out Ken’s token. “Oi Scaley, guess who’s back. and no it ain’t slim shady.” I said, pouring some magic into the token. Part of me wondered if he would even be around to answer, or if his world was even still there. But the token was still intact so I figured that meant Ken and Revaan were still alive and kicking.
Point of View: Ken
Shortly after landing on my feet, I looked around to notice that Applejack and I had landed in some kind of mountain range. Not one that I was familiar with, but it did remind me of the badlands back home. The earth pony herself was still on her hooves, but I noticed that her attention was focused on something that was behind me.
Turning around though, my eyes widened. Holy Sh*t, it was Connor. And he was still alive!
Connor gave a chuckle and waved. “What's on your mind, monkey butt?” He then blinked and shook his head. “Sorry about that. Quarter of an eon with Discord as a mental roommate tends to leave ya a bit.” He whistled and twirled a finger next to his head. He then turned and looked at Applejack next to me. “Huh, didn't know your world was quadrupedal.”
Looking at him. I did the first thing that came naturally. Punching him dead center in the face with my dragon arm as it launched him into a wall. “THAT was for making me worried sick about you!!”
“Ken? Seriously?” Applejack just face hooved.
“If you were in my shoes, you would do the same thing.”
Connor coughed as he hit the side of the cliff, leaving a decent imprint of his body. Spike got up, ready to fight back but was stopped by Scratch. “It's fine Spike. They just had a bit of an abrupt goodbye last time they met.”
Connor chuckled, pulling himself out of the cliff side, cracking his jaw a bit. “Speaking of which.” He turned to Scratch. “I'll take 25 bits.” He chuckled, the exceed looking at him.
“Why?” Scratch said.
“Because the bet was fifty, and while he didn't bro hug me, he still slammed me square in the face.” Connor chuckled. The exceed rolled his eyes before tossing Connor a coin worth 25 bits. “Gambling and punches to the face aside, I really am sorry I had to trick you like that Ken. I knew what I was doing was risky and couldn't risk you getting sealed with me.”
“I know that,” I told him, lending him a hand and helping him up. It was then that I held onto him like he was a long lost relative for a while before releasing him. “Still, it’s good to have you back broski.”
“So am ah to assume that this here is Connor?” Applejack asked, now deciding to shift into her dragon form instead of staying as a earth pony. “He looks a bit… different from how ah tried to picture him.” At this, Connor and the others jumped a bit.
“Now that I did not see coming.” Connor said as he looked at the now draconic Applejack. “But yeah. I’m Connor. And don’t let the little bit of craziness or slightly relaxed attitude fool you. When it comes to a pinch or my friends being in trouble, there ain’t a force on Terra that can stop me.” He said with a fanged smirk.
“Ah’ll believe ya when ah see it for myself.” She smirked in response, standing next to me as I sighed for a moment.
“Yeah. Believe it or not Connor, you’re talking to my marefriend.” I explained to him. “She’s been helping me get situated with all the ponies back in my world and one thing lead to another. AJ’s helping me out with trying to help Revaan find out what happened to the Onyx dragons.” That in return, got a surprised look from Scratch. I personally thought that he was trying to understand how she was suppose to be “helping” me bring back a once thought dead breed of dragons.
Connor’s reaction though… was not what I expected.
The dragon slayer simply nodded. “Cool. Well glad you two are happy with each other and working towards a noble goal.” He smiled and was about to say something else, then blinked and tackled me to the ground.
I grunted as he did so. “Dude what the he…” I was silenced by his hand over my mouth.
“Shush.” He said, looking over a ridge. For several moments there was silence before a deafening roar was heard echoing throughout the mountain range. Several peaks over a large burst of emerald flame was seen, a large green claw throwing what looked like several gryphons out of the cave, the flyers haphazardly taking off.
He climbed off me and helped me up. “What the heck was that for?” I said, brushing some dirt off my pants.
Connor kept his gaze locked on the peak where the gryphons had come from. “Sometimes older dragons will not hesitate to clear an entire mountain range if they feel their territory is being invaded enough. Had we kept talking they might have tried to come and attack us.”
Now that was beginning to make sense. “Alright, Now what exactly are you three doing all the way out here?”
Connor then blinked and looked at us, giving a sigh. “You might want to sit down. I've got a bit of a story to tell.” he then proceeded to tell Applejack and I about how he got free during the wedding, then of what happened to Thaczil Darstrixi while he had been sealed away, leading up to Spike being revealed as the long lost prince and how they were looking for a dragon who would be able to help them.
“So let me get this straight… Spike is Harroc’s son? Damn, that I did not expect.”
Spike chuckled. “Believe me, I was the last dragon expecting to be the son of a long lost empire.” He then blinked. “Wait, does this mean that the Crystal empire owes allegiance or something once we get the dragon kingdom back up again? I mean, I did help save the crystal heart after all.” He said with a curious tone. Connor and Scratch both blinked. “Hmm, not sure, but they’d at least probably agree to being allies.” Connor then blinked and looked at Spike. “Did you guys tell Cadence and Shining Armor about you being a prince while you were there?”
Spike then blinked and slowly facepalmed. “No. No we didn’t. With the whole Sombra mess then the crystal fair, it completely slipped our minds.”
“Plus, they were never mentioned back when Connor first summoned us.” I told him, then realizing something. “Oh yeah, that reminds me. Should I bring Revaan to meet Spike later? He actually met your father back then before we had to go home.”
Spike blinked and looked at me. “That would be awesome. Plus I get to meet another dragon who doesn’t want to torch me for trespassing in their cave.” He chuckled.
“Alright. Maybe later though when we aren’t having to sneak into another dragon’s territory. Hell, maybe you guys can come see the Temple where AJ and I live too.” I said before looking back at Connor. “What do we do now though?”
Connor then turned to me with a smile that sent shivers down my spine quick. “Now? Now we knock on that dragon’s door.” He chuckled, turning and jumping down the side of the cliff towards where we had just seen the gryphons get ejected from.
“I believe AJ might have a trick for that… Just stand your ground though, things might get a little bit… shaky.” I sighed, looking back at Applejack as she nodded her head. When we caught up to him, Applejack slammed her two front hooves down on the ground, causing the earth below us to quake. Loud enough and brutal enough to disturb a dragon.
Connor smirked and held up a hand, counting down on his fingers. When the last finger went down, a loud roar came from the cave on the peak. Moments later a large jet of green fire blasted out before a massive green dragoness poked her head out. Connor and Scratch’s eyes widened. “No f*cking way.” I heard him mutter.
Scratch shook his head. “Of course it’d be her.” The exceed said before landing on Connor’s shoulder.
Spike simply shook. “Aww man, not this dragon.” He said, causing Connor and Scratch to look at him.
However, my response was different. “Wait, you three know this dragon?”
Spike gave a nervous chuckle. “Well, during a little confidence crisis, I ended up stumbling across their hoard and tried to claim it as my own. They chased me out of there really quick.” he said, poking his fingers together. Connor and Scratch simply chuckled. “You know her too, Ken.” Connor said before launching himself up, his body shifting to iron scales as he launched a pole kick. “Tetsuryūkon!” He shouted, the pole slamming into the dragoness’ head. “OI KEPESK! DID SLEEPING TOO LONG MAKE YA GROGGY!” He shouted, landing on the cave outcropping.
The dragoness gave a growl at the strike, preparing to attack him, but stopped when she heard his shout. “What in the….Z’ar ir?” At this Connor literally face planted into the ground.
“Oh for the love of. Stop calling me that. I’m not a trainee anymore for crying out loud you old sack of scales!” He practically groaned
“Connor, I don’t think insults are going to help anyone at this rate!” I heard Applejack shot back, eager to spring at him if it weren’t for my raised hand telling her to stay where she was.
The dragoness looked at me and the others, chuckling. “Seems you’ve brought some friends.” She then noticed Spike. “And the trespasser. Did you come to try and take my hoard again?” She said, emerald flames coating her as she shifted to her bipedal form. The dragoness now took an anthro form, standing an easy 9 feet tall and clad in ancient but still sturdy armor, though several scratches and dents were visible in the metal.
Connor stretched an arm out to prevent the dragoness from attacking. “Easy Kepesk. Don’t need you hurting the future king.” At this the dragoness looked at him. “What are you talking about?” Connor then explained about Harroc’s last request to Celestia and Luna. The emerald dragoness then looked at Spike, her eyes widened. “You mean this whelp is the son of King Harroc and Queen Sargt?”
Scratch chuckled. “Indeed, though growing up in pony society has stifled his growth a bit.” He then flew back down to me and Applejack. “It’s fine Applejack, she’s an old friend of mine and Connor’s.”
“Alright, if ya say so.” She replied. Also, for me, things were finally beginning to sink on who the dragoness was. And when she looked at me, I couldn’t help but be a little embarrassed.
“Well… this is quite… surprising.” I said, looking back at the dragoness.
Kepesk looked down, her eyes catching my arms. “Ah I remember you now. That human Connor summoned from another world.”
“Right. You’re… a lot different from when I last remembered.” I told her, feeling a little bit uncomfortable. After all, she hasn’t seen me in 1500 years and I haven’t seen her in a month. How was I supposed to start up a conversation with a dragoness that I met only once?
Kepesk simply shrugged. “Even dragons can grow in 1500 years. Now then, back to the reason for you all knocking so loudly.” She said, looking at Connor.
“If you consider knocking being a magnitude 5 earthquake.” Applejack said to herself, surprising Scratch.
Scratch blinked at Applejack. “Magnitude 5? Impressive. We knew some strong earth dragons that could barely reach magnitude 4.” He said, looking at the earth pony turned dragon.
“That’s only one thing I can do. Revaan’s been teaching me.” She replied. “I can show you all later. But maybe we should head inside first?”
Scratch nodded, flying back up to Connor and Kepesk, Spike following up the side of the rock wall as well. When we all got up there we saw the two in question had already gone into the cave and then slowly began to follow them as they made their way inside.
Inside the cave, they found a massive chamber that held almost a literal mountain of gold, gems, armors, weapons, etc. Along one wall was a small pile of bones anyone could tell belonged to a few gryphons most likely foolish enough to try and steal some of the treasure. Off to another side was a small offshoot that led to an almost lounge like room, several couches and chairs along with a fire pit carved into the wall. It was there that Connor and Kepesk were, each telling the story of what happened after he had gotten sealed away.
“Huh, so for the first few hundred years before the war I was traded back and forth between kingdoms? Interesting.” He said, though growled a bit, as by doing the math that meant his statue was in Thaczil during the war if the dragons had his statue for the first hundred years. Meanwhile, I was looking around with Applejack. Making sure that she and I both did not TOUCH ANYTHING while we were here. I did not want Kepesk getting mad at us for if we knocked something over or if something fell out of place.
Connor looked over at us and chuckled. “Jeez, you two are more skittish than a cockatrice in a mirror shop. Relax.” He smiled.
Kepesk nodded. “Don’t worry about breaking anything, a lot of it’s enchanted anyways. How else would dragons keep hoards for thousands of years without any of it rusting or decaying?” She said with a smirk.
Spike walked over and bowed his head. “Sorry for trying to take your hoard when I found it in the Everfree.” He said. Kepesk chuckled. “Well well, the whelp knows some humility. We’ll make a king of you yet kid.” She laughed. “Now then, why exactly were you all looking for me?” Connor nodded. “Like I explained a bit earlier, we want to see the old kingdom brought back into power and made new again.” He smiled. “Celestia and Luna told us there were rumors of a dragon that lived out here that was old enough to remember the empire. So we figured we’d come ask them for help trying to convince some dragons to join the cause before we headed off to where the old capital was.” At this Kepesk tensed up. “While I admire your resolve, you’d best stay away from the capital city for now. One of the more powerful dragons has made it into his central hoard, and I’ll tell you this. His father was the one who started the rebellion, so to get your plan even remotely started, you’ll need to essentially dethrone him. It won’t be easy.”
“Hence the more reason to do so,” I said. “He wouldn’t expect Connor or Spike to be showing up at his doorstep… Though there is one thing that concerns me… Spike, do you have any combat experience whatsoever?” I looked at him, who in turn just cringed nervously. Sighing, I looked back “That’s what I thought.”
“What’s the matter Sugarcube?” Applejack asked me as I drew one of my own swords from my bag.
“Spike would need to learn how to fight first before he can take on any opponents. I know that Connor is trying to convince some dragons to get allies, but the fact is that some dragons would want to test him as a way to prove that he is who he say he is.” I explained, swinging my sword a bit before sheathing it. “Is that right Connor?”
Connor nodded solemnly. “That was part of my plan. To find the dragon that knew of the empire in this mountain range and ask them to help me train Spike to be able to hold his own in a fight.” He said, his posture straight as his tone became serious. “Though more than anything, we needed a dragon to teach him to be able to wield his True form.”
At this Spike tensed up, memories of his birthday when he lost control to his greed flowing through him. “N-No. We don’t need to do that. You just can train me to fight really well. I’m sure if it’s you and Kepesk, you two can train me to be an awesome fighter.” He said, a bead of sweat on his forehead as he seemed to blurt out his response.
At this Scratch, Connor, and Kepesk looked at him. “Spike,” Connor started. “Is there something you aren’t telling us?” The young drake looked quickly from side to side before sighing. He then explained the greed induced growth spurt he went through on his birthday just under a year ago. That in turn, caused me to sigh.
“I feared that. Revaan told me that gems for dragons are more than just sweet treats,” I said, looking at Spike. “He told me that they wait until their young are two years of age before feeding them gems. Mostly because it gives enough time for a dragon's mind and body to mature so they aren’t consumed by greed… Speaking of which, should I call him in now? Maybe he might have an idea to help with the process.”
Connor thought for a bit. “That might be a good idea. It would definitely help to have another dragon to help teach him.” He said with a nod. “We should probably go outside of into the main chamber to have enough room for him.” I smiled, stepping outside and opening the gateway to the temple. From there, Revaan himself soon stepped through, looking down to see Connor standing there.
“And just when I thought you were a goner. Good to see you again, Connor.” The Onyx dragon smirked, looking a little lower to see Spike just looking at him, awestruck. He chuckled a little, waving a paw in front of him to see if the little dragon would blink at all. Looking towards Kepesk though, he seemed very… surprised to see her. “Well, I’ll be… the young drake has now grown up.”
“You know Kepesk Revaan?” Applejack asked.
“Indeed. Yet, when Ken and I last saw her, she was merely Connor’s size
Kepesk gave a laugh. “Well when you're one of the survivors, you tend to age.” She smirked, shifting to her true form, giving a challenging puff of flame at Revaan.
Spike simply stared in awe at Revaan before shaking his head. “Dude, you look awesome. I mean, I saw maybe a few younger Onyx dragons during the migration, but none looked cool as you.”
“Really now?” Revaan chuckled. “I’m surprised to hear that. For more than one reason.” Spike looked confused for a minute, so taking a minute, I stepped in.
“Back in our world, Revaan is one of the last of his kind. Not to mention that in our world, you’re his son.” I said, looking at the young dragon.
Spike blinked and looked between me and Revaan. “Seriously? Man, I luck out across the multiverse it seems. I have a king as a father here….well...had a king as a father.” He said somberly.
“Oh… I’m sorry for your loss,” He spoke again. “Who was your father?”
Sighing a bit, I then turned to Revaan, speaking again. “Remember Harroc from last time?”
“Why yes I-” He paused a little, looking back at both me and then Spike. “Well, no wonder I was getting a sense of Deja` Vu. You look just like your father.”
Spike chuckled, rubbing the back of his head spines with a smile. “T-Thanks.” He smiled and looked at Connor. “So, since we found the dragon that has volunteered to train me, you think we should head back?”
Connor and Kepesk looked at each other before grinning and looking at the young drake. “Spike. You might want to brace yourself.”
At this he looked confused before Kepesk’s tail shifted into a large iron club, swinging and catching him in the midsection, launching him off the rocky ledge and onto the large outcropping below. I chuckled a little, looking back at the dragoness.
“Someone’s a little eager to start training.”
“As your kind says ‘sometimes to learn to swim you gotta throw em in the deep end’.” She laughed and shifted back to her bipedal form before diving down towards spike, her Scales gaining an iron sheen.
Connor gave a laugh. “There’s a reason she was one of the best Iron Dragons at the temple.” He smirked before looking at Revaan. “And good to see you again too big guy. Though try to avoid the ‘smart one, ugly one, and one with weird powers.’ bit for a while.” He laughed before he dove down to make sure Spike didn't get roughed up too much. Revaan just rolled his eyes.
“It was suppose to be a joke for ancestor’s sake!”
“Try telling that to them once they see you again.” I groaned, facepalming myself.
Scratch rolled his eyes and gave a chuckle. “He knows, he was just being a smartass. Not to mention that there are some characters we aren’t sure how they’ll react.” He chuckled and patted me on the shoulder. “He's just excited to not only be helping bring the kingdom he knew back, but also that he was able to meet three old friends in one day.” The feline said with a smile.
Point of View: Connor
I give a smirk, seeing Kepesk launching a barrage of iron tail spikes at Spike, the young drake scrambling to dodge the assault. “You guys are absolutely crazy!” He shouted as I launched an iron pole at him. “First rule of combat Spike, your opponents aren’t going to come up and tell you they are going to attack you. Be ready at all times for a potential assault.” I say, landing on the other side of the dragon, an iron pole ready. “Tetsuryūkon!” I say, launching it at him. His reflexes were pretty good as he brought up his arms to block the attack, his scales stopping most of the damage but a few small chipped ones were sent flying.
I smirked as the young drake blocked my strike, jumping back to avoid a claw swipe from him. I gave a chuckle before glancing up at the audience. I saw Ken, Applejack, and Revaan all watching. A thought then dawned on me. Ken and I never got to have that sparring match and I never really got to see him fight all that much in the cavern. Time to change all that.
I leapt back to avoid a puff of emerald flames from Spike, turning the prince around before shoving him towards a swing from Kepesk. I then turned and yelled up to Ken. “Oi Scaley! Get your butt down here. You owe me a sparring match still!”
He looked at Revaan and Applejack for a minute, before the onyx dragon nodded. With that, I saw the Scalebound grin as he landed in the fray. As his arm glowed and he readjusted his bag, he said to me. “I honestly didn’t think you would remember that promise. I hope you’re ready.”
I gave a smirk as iron scales coated my skin. “Oh I'm more than ready. Bring it ya scaley playboy.” I said, hinting the fact I could smell multiple female scents on you. I grin and lunged forward, my left arm shifting into its trademark chain edged blade. However, there was one thing that I did not expect when I got closer.
For him to pull out a revolver and shoot a energy bullet at me, point blank. “I’m not a playboy. Unlike you, I’m the head of a branch in a hoard. But that doesn’t mean I lack in skill.” With it, he holstered the gun, pulling out a sword now as he charged head on, his powers glowing with his blades.
I blinked and just barely dodged the energy bullet, losing a few hairs in the process as well as noticing a good scratch along my iron scales, the dark tint of blood slowly forming along the scratch. “Damn, nice weapon.” I smirk and then jump back. “Though you better hope I haven’t gotten rusty in the time I’ve been sealed.” I say, charging before blinking and doing a faceplant at my own metal based pun, sliding to a stop in front of Ken.
“If that’s suppose to be a strategy, then you are definitely over thinking this.” He said. I glanced up, only to see his dragon arm glow as it’s energy picked me up and hurled me towards Kepesk and Spike. “Catch!” I give a yell as I get launched towards the two, only to get catapulted back like a tennis ball via one of Kepesk’s tail mace swings. “I AM NOT A GOD DAMNED SHUTTLECOCK!!” I shout as I swing a leg at Ken. “Tetsuryūkon!” I shout, said leg turning into an iron pole, attempting to side swipe the Scalebound. He gave a grunt, bringing up his blade and scaled arm to try and dampen the strength of the blow, only to get launched several dozen feet back against the rock wall. As he got closer though, he flipped in midair, his feet landing on the wall as he accelerated towards me. Changing weapons again as he switched from his swords to his polearm as it clashed with my leg. To my surprise, his weapons weren’t cracking or anything. In fact, they were holding up quite well.
I gave a smirk as his weapons held strong against the magical iron of my leg. “Magical weapon or special enchantment?” I asked, making idle conversation during our spar. Scratch watched from above, sitting on Revaan’s head, chuckling at the two of us.
“Nah, it’s just my weapons are made of the strongest materials on Equestria in my world. Forged by dragons nonetheless.” It was then though that I watched one of his other legs swoop around to my other leg, knocking me over and causing me to lose balance as he used an energy burst from his dragon arm to send me back a few feet. “However, that’s only the tip of the iceberg of what I am capable of. Try one of your more… stronger attacks and I can show you what I mean.”
I grunted as I was forced back by his dragon arm. “Oh really now? I might have to swing by and learn some of their techniques.” I said with a chuckle, my eyes glowing as magical energy gathered within me. “Stronger attacks huh? Alright.” I say, my arm turning into a large lance. “While I’m normally a slash and bash type kind of guy, I do have some range.” I lunge back, thrusting my arm forward. “Tetsuryūsō.. Kishin!” I shouted, the lance glowing brightly before numerous iron lances fired off towards him like a machine gun.
Smoke and dust began to cough up everywhere as I continued to fire off more lances. For a moment, I paused to catch my breath. But it was then that I was seeing his arm glow much brighter now as the scales from it expanded all across his body. Forming a protective armor all around him as my eyes widened. Scratch and Kepesk were just as equally surprised as I was along with Spike. But for Ken, he seemed unphased.
“Now then, while I still have this form… let’s see how long you can last.” With it, he sprinted forward as his weapon collided with my arm. However, the shock wave from his slash was much larger than it was previously. As I was about to notice when I heard Kepesk flinch a little in pain.
I turned and saw the two dragons knocked back a bit by the shockwave, smirking as I looked over the armored Displaced. “Very nice. Now I don't have to worry about accidentally hurting you.” I grin, scales coating my body, my fingernails turning into full claws as my teeth became sharpened razors. I pulled back, inhaling before firing off a breath attack. “Tetsuryū no... Hōkō!!” I internally called out, the attack launching out towards Ken, a huge gale of magical wind and shrapnel slashing out across the plateau. He sprinted forward, launching himself forward before using his dragon arm to pull himself towards the ground below, causing the ground to quake as the dust cloud that coughed up blinded my vision.
Around the same time that happened was when I felt the wind knocked out of me by the resulting punch in the chest that sent me flying. Midflight though, I used my claws to slow myself down as I dashed towards the armored Scalebound. My arms forming chainsaws as I clashed with his sword. The plan I had in my mind was simple. Use my own arms to disarm him of his weapon. That form of his could only last for so long that he would have to run out of power eventually. And I was only getting started on my own strength.
I gave a smirk, growling as I pressed hard, his blade blocking the teeth on my swords from revving up. I pushed hard, forcing us back from each other. I revved my swords up and lunged again, attempting to snag his sword in the vibrating edges to pull it away.
He gave and grunt, trying to force my blades back, but one particular rev of my swords caused his sword to tilt just slightly, resulting in an awkward angle on his end. The teeth of my blade catching the edge of his, launching it into the stone wall several meters away. I gave a grin and charged, my blades revving up as I watched his dragon armor crumble away. Just as I was about to lunge and strike though, I felt something in the air. A silver colored light formed in his hands, molding itself into a blade that resembled one of his own. Judging from his facial expression, I could tell he was confused too, but thankful for the sudden equipment. As he swung, I had that feeling again. I suddenly recalled what that feeling was….impending death. The temple masters had made sure to give me that little bit of dragon nature, able to sense when something was about to kill so I’d have time to get away. And that was just what I did.
As the blade came down, it cut through the air,sending a massive shockwave that barely managed to dodge. I could only stare in shock as the blade of energy slashed clean into the ground, as well as into the neighboring mountain, nearly cleaving the pillar of stone in two. My jaw dropped as I looked over at him, seeing the look of shock on his face as well. “Dude….THAT WAS AWESOME!” I said, my arms reverting back before I gave a grin.
“Uhh… Thanks?” He replied. “How that happened though was… strange… Like really strange.” He said, the blade vanishing almost as soon as it was formed.
I gave a chuckle. “Well either it was triggered like some kind of self defense mechanism, or you had that power already and just needed a situation where you were about to get wrecked to use it.” I laugh softly and look at the damage to the ground. “I think we should call it there for the spar.” I say, looking over to see where Kepesk and Spike ended up.
Said dragons were currently knocked for a loop behind a small pile of rubble. Spike gave a groan as he slowly stood up. “Ugh...man, that was a crazy attack.” He said, turning to see Kepesk standing as well.
“Indeed. With a technique like that hidden up your sleeve, you should have no problem with many future foes.” She said, cracking her joints a bit as she looked at the devastation.
“Yeah… but you won’t believe what I heard before that happened.” He said, looking back at me. “I heard Caex.”
Kepesk and I could only look at Ken in shock as he said that. Kepesk spoke up for both of us. “But...Grandmaster Caex fell during the traitors revolution. How is that possible you heard him?”
“I… don’t know… He just told me to stay strong… and to repeat the words he told me.” Ken said, holding his hand out. “I am the bone of my sword.” With it, the blade he had once before soon spawned back to life again. Only this time, I noticed what appeared to be circuits of magic flowing across his face and body as the weapon took shape. “It was part of an oath that I had to repeat.”
Scratch, Revaan and Applejack soon joined us. “Interesting,” Scratch said, examining the lines that appeared across his face and body. “Seems to be a form of magic that takes one’s own energy and integrates it with magical energy, bringing forth a new technique.” The exceed said, his eyes looking over the various intricacies of the patterns.
“Thanks.” Ken replied. “Oh and with what Kepesk said before… it may have to do with the fact that I can hear the souls of dead dragons.”
Scratch, Spike, Kepesk, and myself all looked at Ken, practically slack jawed. I spoke up first. “So is this a Sixth Sense kinda deal where you died technically and can communicate with them, or just another Scalebound power?” I said, Kepesk looking at him.
“You truly spoke with the Grandmaster?” She said, still in a bit of shock.
Spike then looked at him, a thought forming before he spoke up. “Um...is that power just random, or can you communicate with specific souls?”
“I’m not sure. It first happened when I was talking with Coryena. Revaan’s partner who died a long time ago.” He said, looking back at Revaan before returning his attention to me. “Since then, she’s been a bit of a teacher and helper. Maybe Caex would do the same thing. He actually gave me advice on fatherhood.”
That…had me a bit surprised. “Really? Fatherhood advice?” Though the grandmaster always did call us like his children while overseeing our training.
“Well excuuuuse me metalhead, when I was talking to him, I felt that I personally failed the ones you call your friends and that I wouldn’t be strong enough to protect Applejack or anypony else. He told me to have faith in my family and friends. Something I’m doing to this very day… which is important because we have a hatchling on the way.”
I gave a chuckle. “Alright alright. And I could tell. You and Applejack have the scent of an egg all over you.” I then gave a smirk. “I'm just sad our spar ended a bit too soon. If we were gonna go with OP sword attacks I had one to bust out in return.” I laughed and looked at Spike and Kepesk. “So Kepesk, aside from the getting blown back by Ken, how did he do?”
The dragoness looked Spike over. “His form is sloppy, his strikes weak, an his resolve to hit an opponent is clearly minimal at best.” At this Spike looked a bit disheartened. “But,” He then perked up a bit. “his defenses and scales are quite strong, and his flame is quite strong for its small bursts.” His chest puffed up a bit.
I chuckled and gave him a quick flick to his head. “Don't get too cocky there kid. Though from what I can gather, if trained right, you can be a hell of a tank.” At this Spike looked confused. “Basically, a fighter who has strong defenses but can also deal out an occasional strong as all hell hit. A defender essentially.”
Spike then thought for a bit and smiled. “So I can always protect my friends and family, and give a good wallop to anyone who tries to hurt them.” I chuckle and nod.
Ken spoke up. “So, now that the crazy spar is over, what should we do now? Is Spike staying here with Kepesk to train more?”
“Well it's been a good month and a half since we left, so I don't see why we can't take a break. Check in with Twilight, and I can even show you the hive.” I said with a grin.
He looked back at AJ, who then looked back at him before they looked at Revaan. “I’m going to return to the temple. You two are free to do as you please.” With that, Ken nodded and opened up a rift in the void for the dragon to return safely. Before redirecting his attention to me. “You sure about Twilight? I would think the moment we see her and she’s with your AJ, she’s going to flip out over the sight of it.”
“Twilight knows about the whole multiverse thing, so she won't exactly flip out over a second Applejack. Now the fact that she’s both a quadrupedal pony as well as can change into a dragon, that she might flip about.” I say as I wave goodbye to Revaan.
Scratch nodded. “She's more likely to pester you with a couple dozen questions about your universe.”
Ken chuckled, rolling his eyes for a minute. “Thanks for the heads up. That’ll be helpful for when we meet her… Are we also going to see Celestia and Luna by chance? They haven’t seen me for… well, as long as you were a statue so yeah… a long time.”
I looked at Scratch. “Hmm, they might be there. Who knows really. They could be busy with royal duties in Canterlot.” The feline shrugged and landed atop my shoulder.
Spike then spoke up. “Uh, Connor?” I looked at him. “It took us about a month to get out here with hiking and training. How are we gonna get back quickly?”
I think for a bit, before looking at Kepesk. “Cashing in on that favor you owe me. Mind giving these guys a lift back for me?” I say, causing the dragoness to sigh.
“Why am I not surprised you remember an owed favor from over an eon ago.” Kepesk said before shifting to her true form.
Scratch simply chuckled. “Because what was over an eon ago for you was technically only year and half for us. Not counting the years where our minds were awake while a statue.”
I smiled at Ken, Applejack, and Spike. “All aboard the Kepesk express.” I chuckled as Scratch grew his wings and floated behind me. He then grabbed my jacket and lifted me up into the air as if I were weightless. Applejack soon hopped up to where we were and Ken pulled himself upward with his dragon arm, using his open one to pull Spike up. Once everyone was onboard, Kepesk readied herself before she took flight a few minutes later.
“And now, we have lift off!”
Point of View: Ken
It took almost half an hour or more to reach Connor’s Ponyville, but once we started flying overhead, the locals that lived down there started running to their homes, hiding their kids and locking themselves inside. If there was such thing as a rude awakening, then us landing on the outside of town was that. To be fair, if I were in their position, I would’ve done the same thing myself. But honestly, I knew that Connor had some sort of plan up his non-existent sleeves for having to calm everypony down so I just thought I would let him do the talking.
By the time Kepesk set down and we hopped off, six others soon ran over to where we were. I looked to see that these ponies were the Twilight Sparkle and her friends that Connor knew. So when my AJ landed on her hooves next to me, that caught their attention rather quickly. Not just that, but my arm also played a part in that initial scare. Hopefully, Connor could possibly ease their tensions right now…
During the end of the flight, Connor and Scratch had flown off in a different direction, having said something about an air strike team. We watched the six mares gather, their gazes immediately locking onto the purple drake.
“Spike you're back!” Twilight said with a smile. One major difference between my world's Twilight and this one was the lack of wings. She did mention something about an ascension so I was probably before that.
Spike gave a smile and nod, accepting the hug from his surrogate sister. “Yeah, just for a bit. We found the dragon that Princess Celestia told us about. Turns out she's an old friend of Connor's.”
“Speaking of the metalhead, where is he?” Rainbow asked, looking around.
Before any of us could answer, Pinkie Pie gave a gasp, her tail spasming. “Twitch-a-twitch!”
The girls, Spike, and my Applejack all immediately dove out of the way and looked towards the sky. Soon a black speck was visible, a faint voice heard.
“.....ming”
“What'd he say?” Connor's Applejack said.
After a few moments his voice shouted. “INCOMIIIIIINNNNNGGG!!!” Connor exclaimed, landing several yards away, creating a small crater.
Once the dust had settled, I just sighed deeply as I looked back at him. “Was that really necessary?”
“Hey, what would you have done in that scenario?” He then asked me as he hopped out of the crater, brushing himself off
“...... Good point.” I sighed, looking at Spike as he walked over to where Connor’s Twi was. For the time being, she was focused on the small dragon, but it wasn’t until Connor’s Applejack looked in my direction that got her attention. More specifically… at my AJ.
“What in tarnation-?”
“Uhh… Connor? A little help here please-?” I asked, before his Applejack quickly raced over to where I was, trying to inspect me from head to toe like she was checking to see if I was hiding anything.
Connor rolled his eyes, walking over and placing a hand on his Applejack’s shoulder. “Ease up Applejack. Girls, this is Ken. The friend of mine from before I was sealed away. And his marefriend Applejack, or Applejack from his Equestria.”
Scratch chuckled and flew over, landing on my shoulder. “In his world, the ponies are all quadrupeds, hence the difference in form. But other than that there’s not really any difference between you two...well aside from one thing.” He gave a nod at my AJ, who looked at both Connor and I before grinning to herself. Taking the opportunity to transform back into her dragoness form and having a few stones from the ground float next to her. Leaving Connor’s Twilight and the rest of her friends in shock.
“H-how-?”
“My Applejack can switch between her Earth Pony form and Earth Dragon form at will.” I simply explained to them. “As for me, I’m a Scalebound. One who forms a pact with a dragon and gains newfound strength in return. My right arm is a symbol of that bond.”
“Pact?” Connor’s Twilight then asked.
“My soul is bound to my Dragon back home named Revaan.” I told her. “Which means that any pain I feel, he feels too. Our souls are linked to one another.”
“That… sounds… AWESOME!” Connor’s Rainbow blurted out from her idle flying position in the air. “What kind of powers do you have?”
And now she’s fangirling over me… wonderful. “Quite a few, but I just spent some of my energy in a training session with Connor, Spike and Kepesk. Maybe next time when I’m not so tired out I can give you a demonstration.”
“Aww man!” She whined, looking back at Connor. “Come on, metalhead! Please let me see what he can do!! PLEASE!!!!”
Connor gave a chuckle. “No can do skittles. Like he said, we just got done with a spar he owed me. Not to mention he ended up getting some crazy new technique that nearly leveled a mountain so we are all pretty drained.” He said, cracking his back. Rainbow gave a huff, crossing her arms in disappointment.
“Fine, but I still want to see some of his moves before he goes back to wherever he came from.” She said.
Kepesk gave a nod, emerald flames cloaking her as she shifted to her biped form. At the sight of the flames, the mares jumped back a bit, but then stared in shock at the dragoness. “Wait… That’s what you mean when you said dragons have two forms?” Twilight asked, her curiosity outweighing her surprise as she moved over, examining the taller dragoness, the unicorn only coming up to about her chest in height.
Scratch nodded. “We heard from Spike about his little growth spurt incident a while back. Kepesk here will mostly be training him on how to harness and control that form while Connor and I teach him proper combat.” Kepesk nodded. “Along with his true form, I’ll also be teaching him the history of our kingdom so he knows his roots.” Pinkie Pie gave a gasp. “Wait a second! Since this is our first time meeting Ken, his marefriend, and the super cool dragoness….that means….” She paused and looked around for dramatic effect. “I GET TO THROW A TRIPLE PARTY!” She said before shooting off. Before I could stop her, the pink party planning pony was gone in a puff of smoke.
Kepesk blinked and looked in the direction. “Interesting mare that one.” The five mares, Connor, Scratch, AJ, and myself all spoke at the same time. “You have no idea.” With that, I felt some energy return to me now that I had my body relax a bit. I had a feeling that I might need to go back to Revaan soon. But first, I needed to make sure that I gave Rainbow a… demonstration.
“Hey Skittles… I have a bit of energy right now to demonstrate my powers if you want me to show you before I go back. I have a feeling that if I’m gone too long, Revaan might worry.” I said, making Connor raise an eyebrow.
“Really? Sweet, what are y-” Before she could finish her sentence, I used my dragon arm to yank her out of the air, causing some of her feathers to fall out as I set her on the ground after catching her.
“Totally worth it.” I replied, chuckling a small bit.
Rainbow just shot me a quick glare before laughing. “I like this guy Connor. Feel free to bring him back any time.” She said before flying back up.
Connor gave a chuckle then sighed for a moment, looking back at me. “Let me guess, you gotta head back?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” I told him. “I got some ponies staying at my temple that might be causing some trouble if I’m gone for too long… Take care now alright?”
“We will,” Scratch snickered. “I’ll be making sure he doesn’t do anything wild and reckless.” I chuckled a little, seeing as Scratch was acting like a fatherly figure around Connor. Taking my scale, I waved goodbye to them as I opened the fissure in the void that we used in order for ourselves to go home. I smiled and tossed the scale back to Scratch and waved goodbye, though not before Connor gave me his token of course. Kind of funny and ironic that he gave me a dragon’s claw holding a cat’s eye marble because of him and Scratch. With one last wave Applejack and I dove through the fissure back to the temple.
Back at the Temple…
By the time I got back to the temple, everything that proceeded afterwards went by so quickly that I honestly couldn’t recall a lot of what happened. What I did remember was that there was a lot of talking involved… mostly with Brutalight. She wanted to get the chance to talk to me alone in order to explain to me some things that I needed to know. Most importantly, what life was like for the Elements of Insanity before being Displaced. Turns out, all six of them were in the same situation I was back home.
They were seen as the weird ones. The ones that had a hard time fitting in… Just like me.
Of course, with Brutalight, the conversation stretched out a little more to the relationship I have with Pinkis. That part didn’t last long though and throughout the course of the evening, many things occurred that made me feel like my head was going into overdrive. For one thing, Applejack laid her second egg. Another though, which I didn’t find out until later, was a condition that Brutalight had that her friends called “Pink Eye”. I would rather not go into details on what exactly were the side effects that were with Pink Eye, but I can say that it made things a little… awkward when I saw her passed out on the floor.
And Applejack and Pinkis passed out on the bed.
“Well great…” I said, sighing to myself as I tried to not disturb my two sleeping marefriends. Letting them take up all the bedsheets and everything while I just laid there in a t-shirt and a pair of pants. Trying to fall asleep.
Of course, when I did fall asleep, I only ended up waking up inside the same place where Coryena was. Who was smirking a little as she scanned me from head to toe. “My my, you’re such a good partner… I feel quite jealous for the two mares that you care for… and the purple one too.”
“Wait… How did you-?”
“Sweetheart, I’m a part of you. Anything you see, I see too.” She giggled, giving me her best example of “bedroom” eyes. “You remind me of Revaan and I… Ah, the good old days…”
Groaning, I facepalmed myself as I looked back at the dragon. “Well, that’s an image I need to erase from my mind… Why did you call me here, Coryena?”
“Well now… I just finished up a small chat with that elderly dragon… Caex I believe,” She stated as she walked towards me, tapping a talon to my forehead as a bit of energy glowed. “He wanted me to make sure you knew the rest of the techniques that he tried teaching you.”
“You mean this?” I asked, conjuring the energy in my hands to form the blade I used against Connor.
“Yes… But there’s more to it then that…” She replied. “Try saying ‘Trace on’.” Taking her word for it, I said the simple command, watching the energy from my arm course through my body as the energy blade began to materialize into a metallic substance.
“See? Any weapons you form from your energy, you can create by adding in some more magic. You already know projection magic given your previous abilities. The second half is strengthening magic, or to make a material surface sturdy enough to resist anything.” The dragoness explained. “There’s two more parts, but Caex told me that you should only use them later when you have more strength… and it involves the oath he had you say.”
Oh right… that. Well, better take a minute to remember it real quick.
I am the bone of my sword.
Steel is my body and fire is my blood.
I have created a thousand blades,
Unknown to death, nor known to life.
Have withstood pain to create many weapons,
Yet these hands will never hold anything.
So, as I pray… Unlimited Blade Works.
“Thanks,” I briefly replied, before I noticed the dragoness smiling again. “What’s with the smile?”
“I might have added an additional spell for you to use for your… escapades.” She smirked, “One for soundproofing so no one can hear you when you have your fun.” With that, she winked back at me and smiled. “Go get ‘em, tiger.” All I remember was sighing deeply and facepalming myself before everything faded to white.
End Chapter 12
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“I AM NOT A GOD DAMNED SHUTTLECOCK!"
*groan*
God dammit, even this site does it!.........uhg...Fuck it.
.........Birdie.
6943904 actually the names are interchangeable. Shuttlecock, bird, birdie, all are the same name for the projectile used in badminton. I just happened to grow up using the term shuttlecock.
"“Pink Eye”. I would rather not go into details on what exactly were the side effects that were with Pink Eye, but I can say that it made things a little… awkward when I saw her passed out on the floor"
Please tell me you know what pink eye is, and you know it is a real disease when ones eyes come in contact with crap
10562400
I know what the real condition is and let me be clear, the 'Pink Eye' mentioned in this story is not related to the actual Pink Eye condition. This one is much different and is more related to Brutalight's character and something from her own world that's affecting her. Her friends just call it 'Pink Eye' because there's not an actual name for it and one of the most noticeable signs is her eyes going pink (Not the white of her eyes, but the iris). Sorry for the potential confusion