23- Among the Stars
Bound by Scales- Among the Stars
Shortly after arriving in Sun’s world, I honestly did not know what to expect. Because for about another three to five hours, it was pure craziness. I was able to meet Sun, Lance, Asphy, an older version of Zinnia and some other ponies while I was there, but most of my time was spent on making sure Ruby and Magma didn’t wander off anywhere or cause any trouble. There were a few close calls with some other Displaced, including when the two of them almost caused Asphy’s research equipment to catch fire, but above all else, things were turning out a lot better than I had originally hoped.
However, what surprised me the most though was some of the things that I learned from Luna when she and I had some time to talk on the side. Some things she told me were indeed… surprising. Especially when she told me that I reminded her of her previous lover before he died. She said that her name was Vulon, which was the dragon word that stood for night… and she also gave me my own name in the dragon language. Kendov. Warrior. So in conclusion, my full name to her was Kendov Ahkrin, which roughly translated to “Warrior of Courage” if I got the syllables right.
I had asked Shayne and Aaron to hold down the fort while we were away and from the looks of things, everything seemed quite relaxed and not too chaotic while we were absent. Ponyville was the same way when I was walking AJ back to the orchard as well. However, it was then though that she and I decided that it was the appropriate time in order to help break the news of Magma and Ruby to Granny Smith and her family. If we tried hiding it for too long, then they would know that something was up. Revaan offered to come with us, but I told him that the sight of a full grown dragon could still throw Ponyville into a panic, so it was best that he stayed behind so nopony would have to scream bloody murder at the sight of him.
So when we approached the farm, it was surprising to see that Applebloom wasn’t there. Big Mac looked to be on the orchard, applebucking some of the trees as we came closer to the barn. Right now was when Magma and Ruby crawled out from her saddlebag and decided to rest on my shoulders as the stallion took a break and trotted over to where we were… and soon had Ruby trying to reach out and grab his mane. “Hey there little one… Where are your parents?”
That had AJ and I looking at each other immediately. A little bit embarrassed by the situation. “Uh… Mac… Can we talk for a moment?” Applejack asked. “There’s something that Ken and I need to tell you.”
“What is it, Sis? Is it about these two youngsters?” He said, just as Ruby and Magma were crawling over his shoulders and his head. “They do look a little bit… familiar if I do say so myself.”
“Yeah… about that…” The earth pony that was my marefriend replied to him as he looked back at us. “Those two are Magma and Ruby… as for the parents… well… you’re looking right at them, Mac.” For a moment, Mac looked confused. Possibly by the context of what we were trying to tell him. But soon, that confusion lifted up pretty quickly once we saw Magma and Ruby return to Applejack… and for Magma to say something that both of us honestly did not expect.
“M-mama…”
That… caught Big Mac by surprise… Major surprise. Before he shot a menacing glare at me. However though, Applejack and I weren’t really embarrassed anymore. This time, it was more of a surprised moment that was also mixed with joy as she looked at them.
“Ken… Magma just said mama…” She said, before hugging me and smiling with joy. I hugged her back, looking at Mac in the process as he just looked at both of us with a confused look.
“Okay, is there something I’m not getting here? Because what the hay is happening?” He then asked, causing Applejack to facehoof herself and for me to sigh. This was going to be a long conversation.
“Maybe we should take this inside,” I suggested. “Is Granny Smith home by chance?”
“Nah, she went to go visit relatives in Baltimare. Had to help make sure she had everything before going on the trip today,” Big Mac told the two of us as he opened the door and let us inside. We were careful enough to not cause an accident as we sat at the table, both of the kids sitting in my lap. “Applebloom is with her friends too, so it’s just me on the farm… Now what is going on with you two?”
I sighed, looking back at Applejack with a worried expression. I know that I promised Mac that I wouldn’t hurt her, but I didn’t want to say anything to make it sound like I did. So instead, Applejack did the talking. “Mac… Ken and ah… we’re gonna get married soon… and you… well… you are an uncle now. This is your nephew Magma and your niece, Ruby.” Right away, he was stunned. But before he could say anything, Applejack beat him to it first. “Look, Mac. Before you say anything… Ah know that Ken isn’t exactly… well… a pony. But he has been very kind to me and has been there for me all the time-.”
“Ah actually wasn’t going to say anything like that.” He interjected. “Ah was going to say that ah am proud of you, sis.” Wow… not the kind of reaction I was expecting. “You are very lucky to have him and ah can say the same for Ken. He is very lucky to have you… In fact, ah was curious about something… where do you two raise them anyways?”
I sighed a little. The next half an hour or so required a lot of explaining to Mac about a lot of things. My bond with Revaan, the hollow, and also everything else in between. Needless to say, he was quite surprised about what we had to tell him. Especially when we also had to bring up the topic of the Displaced to him as well.
Afterwards though, Applejack then had something to ask of her brother. “Mac… can you please not tell Applebloom or Granny about Magma and Ruby just yet… Ah don’t want to give Granny a heart attack if we had to break the news to her.”
“I can…” He said, but something felt off about what he was saying. “… On one condition though.” And there it is. “Ah would like to go and see the Hollow you two were telling me for myself.” That definitely didn’t sound like he was asking too much, but then again, we just broke the news to him about Magma and Ruby so all bets were off at this point.
“Okay, just to warn you though… you are in for a bit of a surprise.” I told him as AJ and I had the stallion follow us back to Twilight’s castle and use the gate to the hollow. Once he stepped hoof inside the hollow though, he was blown away by everything that was there. Something told me that the whole underground community where a bunch of different species including outcast changelings, dragons, and ponykind all living together under one roof was a bit much for him to take in. Not only that, but also, the first person to greet us upon returning back was Shayne and Aurox.
“Welcome back Ken… Who’s the big guy?” She asked, tilting her head to the side in confusion. “Is he a friend of yours?”
“Shayne, he’s mah older brother.” Applejack clarified for him, looking back at Mac as he was staring not at Shayne, but at Aurox instead. “Mac… please don’t stare at Aurox. That’s rude.”
“Relax, big red. Aurox won’t hurt you, he’s just my partner in combat and helps me from time to time,” Shayne smirked, looking back at the two of them before looking at me. “Hey Ken, can I give him a tour of the Hollow? You know, show him where everything is and what not?”
“Sure, but don’t do anything drastic. We already had to clarify to all the townsfolk that Aurox won’t be eating any of the locals for food.” I told her, looking back at Applejack as Big Mac slowly began to follow the Teen and the Djinn around the hollow.
“Are you sure that was a good idea, Ken?” Applejack asked before turning around to face me. I sighed a little in response, nodding my head.
“I think so… Besides, Shayne is new here and it’s a good thing to see her stepping up and helping out around the place while we are gone,” I explained. “That to me shows responsibility.”
“Ah guess you’re right.” Applejack sighed, looking back at me. “Hey, odd question, but did you ever get the chance to test that new weapon of yours after destroying that last aspect out by Appleloosa?” Now was when Applejack brought up a very good point. My newest weapon was a pair of hatchets that reminded me of a set of Kamas at first glance since the edges of the weapons looked like a fan shaped blade. But it also had the durability of a pickaxe that can easily be used while rockclimbing. Now I was even more curious as to how these things worked.
“No actually. Do you want to go to the training grounds and give it a try?”
“Sure, just let me put the kids down for a nap first and ah’ll be right over.” She replied, smirking a little as I went to the training grounds while she went to put the kids in their room. Upon arriving, I summoned Denek Sil, having the grip of the weapon be comfortable in my hands first before trying a few practice swings. It was about the same weight as the blades I normally fight with, but there was a difference between a pair of swords and a pair of axes.
Swords were used to deliver crisp and clean cuts to an opponent. Axes were used to cleave through an object or opponent, causing them to tear in half. Each weapon with my gear had different purposes and different effects in combat. My blades were the standard weapon of choice, but my bow could provide an advantage in the types of arrows I could use. My lance was a heavy weapon that, if wielded right, can provide a good amount of striking power in combat. Hawkmoon was effective in breaking enemy shields and for adding an element of surprise to it and lastly, Norok and Ruvaak Iiz were for dishing out rapid fire blows and for chaining attack combinations in rapid succession.
That left only one question though… what could Denek Sil be used for? Well, guess there was only one way to find out… and that was by testing it out and seeing the results for himself.
“Alright, ah’m back.” Applejack called out to him as she trotted into the arena. “You ready to find out what those can do, Sugarcube?” I nodded my head, making sure that the axes were firmly gripped in my hands in the process. The mare smirked, shifting into her dragon form as she used her earthen powers to create a suitable test dummy that I could beat around with my weapons. First things first though, I wanted to see what would happen if I used my weapons up close. So I went in and began to strike at the opponent, noticing that the more force I applied to my attacks, the deeper the impact of my strikes would be.
At one point though, I stepped back from the training dummy and threw one of the hatchets at my opponent. Axes could be used as suitable throwing weapons, but the only problem that brought was that retrieving the weapon could hard. Especially if it is lodged into the opponents skull. “Hang on a second, AJ. Just let me-.”
Once I pointed at the thrown hatchet though, the weapon immediately shot back to my hands. Startling both of us. Well, this was convenient. Now though… if this was an earth based weapon… what would exactly happen if it interacted with the earth itself. Taking initiative, I took the hatchet in my hands as I slammed the ground, causing a torrent of stone spikes to rupture underneath the feet of my opponent.
I’m now beginning to like where this was going. “AJ, can you throw in one more of those stone dummies. I got an idea.”
“Oh? What idea did you have in mind?” She then asked as I looked back at her with a smirk on my face.
“We saw how powerful one of these weapons is… Now let’s see what happens when we use them both.” Applejack smiled, conjuring another stone replica as I held both hatchets in hand. Throwing them forward, them made a sizable impact into their earthen bodies as I pulled my arms backward, not only pulling the weapons back to me but also my target. Now I was beginning to figure out how these things worked… I can control the axes on their own and have them pull targets to me, while also causing the earth underneath me to be used as a weapon as well. Hell, this could be useful for if I also need to throw massive objects at something or someone like a boulder.
“I think that should be enough for today,” I told Applejack as I dismissed the weapons and she had the practice targets turn into piles of dust and rubble. “From what I can tell, these weapons could work for pulling in targets and objects along with manipulating the earth at my feet… I think I may need to take a lesson or two from you involving how to control earth based abilities if I am to get the hang of this.”
“Ah don’t mind… But I think we should save that for another day, it’s getting late and we’re going to have to check in on Mac and Applebloom back at the farm.” She replied back to me, causing me to nod my head in response as I followed her back into the main square of the temple. Where we found Mac actually talking with Shayne for a bit. But as we were walking back to them, Revaan decided to emerge from his chambers as well. He greeted us casually… before turning his attention to Big Mac.
“Well hello… I don’t recall seeing you before in the Hollow…” The dragon’s words caused Big Mac’s eyes to widen a little… and his jaw to drop.
“H-holy-. T-tall…”
That caused Revaan to smirk a little as he looked back at AJ and I. “Now that’s hilarious… Applejack, who is this fellow here?”
“That’s my older brother, Revaan. Big Mac, meet Revaan. He’s Ken’s partner and a good friend of both him and I,” She explained to him. “Now, what was so funny about Big Mac just now Revaan?”
“His response was similar to another displaced that we met named Umbra. Zinnia introduced us to her shortly after Ken brought you home the first time you too met.” The dragon explained. Now I was beginning to remember everything. Umbra, otherwise known as the Overlady, who is Zinnia’s girlfriend and also another member of the Kazoku family. I never got the chance to find out more about her after the last time Revaan and I met her, but now the mentioning of her seemed to catch Applejack’s attention.
“Really now? Zinnia introduced her to you two?” She asked, causing both of us to nod our heads and answer her question simultaneously. “Well, I’m now really interested in meeting her myself. Do you think that can be arranged, Ken?”
“It’s possible,” I said back to her. “We can give it a try later. Right now though, I believe you were saying that we were going to help get Mac back to the farm right?”
“It’s okay, sis. Ah can find my way back,” Mac insisted. “Shayne showed me where you keep the portal that leads to Ponyville so I can use that to get back over there.”
“Aww… Leaving so soon? What a shame…” Shayne pouted, causing Aurox to hit himself in the face with one of his claws, sighing in defeat. I chuckled a little, looking back at both of the earth ponies as AJ and I walked Mac over to the gate and made sure he was able to get across safely. It had been a long day and now… some rest was in order.
Point of View: Princess Luna
By the time that I returned to Canterlot, I had a little bit of time to myself before I had to return to my royal duties. But unfortunately, the little time I had was only used to think about a few things before I remembered that the moon needed to be raised and proceeded to use my magic to have night set across Equestria and let the stars in the sky shine brightly. There was still a lot for me to do though before I could rest… but I had a strange feeling that tonight was not going to be like the nights before it.
A knock on my door was heard as I turned around, using my magic to open it as I trotted over. I expected to see my sister at the door, but instead I found one of the captains that served the night guard at my doorstep this time. The mare’s name was Eclipse and I have known her since I had returned from my banishment on the moon. Along with my sister, her students and the elements of harmony, Eclipse was also one who helped me get acquainted with how Equestria had changed over the thousand years I was gone. “Your highness, there is something I needed to speak to you about.”
I raised an eyebrow, my curiosity getting the better of me. “And what is that, Captain?”
“Do you remember the jobs that were posted on the bounty board the week before?” I most certainly did remember what she was talking about. After the events of what happened with Lord Tirek, Eclipse and I proposed to my sister that we would come up with a system to have her subjects be able to spot wanted criminals… along with giving a chance for the brave souls who wanted to seek a reward an opportunity to help the country as a whole. “Well… an individual I noticed by the barracks earlier was claiming the rewards on some of the criminals that we had posted that week. But instead of wanting the bits for the bounty, this individual asked if she could have an audience with you.”
An audience? With me? I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was personally flattered when I first heard that, but something else came to mind as I looked back at my captain, trotting out of my room and locking the door behind me. “You seem to be concerned about something, captain. Can you please tell me what’s on your mind?”
“Well, there are two things…” She then stated as we began to make our way down the hall that would lead to the Hall of the Elements. “First, this individual isn’t exactly… well… a pony. I know that it is unlike me to judge, but I am a little concerned about what their motives might be. Second, there is the fact that I asked for her to wait in the Hall of the Elements. Given that around now, Prince Blueblood is most likely on one of his evening strolls, I fear that he may have another… episode if he see’s our guest.”
It was then that we both stopped at the sound of shouting at the entrance to the hall as Eclipse’s predictions suddenly came true. We could hear Blueblood yelling at the top of his lungs like he was screaming for dear life. “GUARDS!!! A MONSTER HAS INFILTRATED THE CASTLE GROUNDS AND IS A THREAT TO MY LIFE!! KILL IT!!! KILL IT I SAY!!!”
“Oh for the love of the night,” Eclipse muttered to herself, rolling her eyes as we immediately opened the doors to the chamber. It was then that we saw a dozen or more guards circling around a bipedal figure that was in the center of the room. It had a hood over it’s head and what appeared to be a sword at its waist and a shield on its back, intimidated by the presence of all the soldiers barging into the room. “ALL OF YOU, STAND DOWN NOW-!!!”
Her orders did nothing though. The guards that were standing there proceeded to attack the figure that was standing there. However, what happened next surprised both Eclipse and I. The figure in the middle dodged the spears of the first two guards that tried to attack it, while grabbing it’s shield and having it come to life with a form of kinetic energy I was unfamiliar with. With a quick forward motion, the figure sent the aegis flying, bouncing off of a nearby wall and hitting two guards in the back of the head while smacking a third in the face and returning to the figure so it can block a fourth attack from behind the individual. The recent series of motions had caused the figures hood to come down as I could see it’s black hair move with the wind as it was able to disarm and defeat it’s attackers without having to resort to the sword on it’s back or the swords that the guards were carrying.
Blueblood himself was shocked… to the point that when he saw us, he thought that we were going to save him. “Oh finally! Auntie, this hideous creature had infiltrated the grounds, slaughtered the guards and was attempting to murder me!! Please, help me-!!”
“Do you honestly think I’m that stupid?” The figure, which had the voice of a mare, spoke up as Blueblood immediately turned around. “My actions were in self defense and I didn’t even draw my sword, your guards are unconscious and not dead and lastly, both of them were watching the whole thing.”
That immediately caused Blueblood to shiver as he looked straight at me. I deeply sighed, looking to Eclipse before looking back at my nephew. “I am really disappointed in you, nephew. You know that it is forbidden to attack a guest while they are visiting-.”
“Guest!?! How is this filthy commoner a guest in this castle-?!”
“Because I requested an audience with Princess Luna,” The figure spoke again, before turning towards me. “Which I believe would happen to be you, if I am not mistaken… correct?”
“That I am…” I simply replied, just as I noticed the guards beginning to wake up after hitting the floor a few minutes earlier. Turning to Eclipse, I looked at her and sighed. “Captain, I’ll leave the guards and teaching my nephew better manners to you.” With that, I trotted over to where the figure was as she put her shield away and I guided her to the nearby balcony, closing the doors behind us to allow for Privacy.
“I apologize for that… My nephew can be… hard to deal with at times,” I apologized in advance as I looked back at the figure. “Now, would you care to tell me what your name is miss?”
“My name is Athena… well that is my name now at least…” She said before sighing a bit. “It’s a lot to explain, but I was hoping you could help me with something.” Now I was getting a little bit curious as to what she meant.
“I am a bit familiar with your kind already… I have even had the priviledge to meet some in person, Miss Athena,” I informed her. “Tell me though, what can I do to assist you?” She then got something out of her back pocket, which appeared to be a… photograph I think they were called… and showed them to me. One of them surprisingly looked like a younger version of Ken.
“I’m looking for someone who’s important to me. Have you seen anyone similar to this? He’s my son and I have not seen him in a few years. This photo was shortly before he turned eighteen and I think he’s now twenty…” Hmm… It did seem possible that the person she was looking for was Ken himself. But I did have to allow for the possibility that the person she was looking for was not exactly Ken either.
“This person is… unfamiliar,” I said to her first off before continuing. “But I may know of a place where somepony can help you.”
She raised an eyebrow, surprised at the words that I said. “You do?”
“There is a place in the badlands called the Obsidian Hollow. There are a few others like yourself who have come here under similar circumstances,” I explained to her. “If you would like, I can teleport you there. However, I can’t teleport you inside the Hollow itself since it is inside a cliff. You will have to make your way inside on your own.”
“That is fine…” She replied. “Thank you for helping me.”
“Your welcome, Athena.” I told her as I began to cast the spell. “Please stay safe.”
Point of View: Ken
I woke up to the sound of Revaan’s voice getting me to wake up as I slowly tried to come to my senses. From what I could tell, it was the middle of the freaking night and also something was bothering the dragon as I looked back at him. “Revaan, what’s wrong?”
“I felt something land above the hollow. Not by normal means though, but by being teleported there,” The dragon explained. “I think it’s possible that someone is trying to infiltrate the Hollow.” Now, when you first think about infiltration and how someone would try to break into the hollow, you may think that’s next to impossible. But there were some ways that could be used by… unwelcomed visitors so to speak that posed a security risk. There were several passages in the temple that lead outside, one that even lead out to directly above our heads. And with us having to deal with the threats of Aspects… Okay, I’m now most definitely concerned.
“Stay here… I’m going to see what’s going on.” I said, grabbing a decent shirt before heading out, using one of the tunnels in the Hollow to reach the basin that looked over the badlands. It was then though that I noticed an entirely new figure. She had a hood similar to Shayne, but looked a lot… older so to speak. Plus, Aurox was nowhere to be seen and normally, he’s with her all the time.
However, my footsteps only attracted the figures attention as her raven like hair began to blow in the wind. Before I got the chance to speak, I noticed her hands motioning to pull out a shield that was on her back. “Are you from the Obsidian Hollow?”
Now I was not liking how this was turning out. Especially with the blade at her waist. “How do you know about the hollow? Matter of fact, who the hell are you?”
“My name is Athena…” She said to me, removing the hood over her head. “I know that you may not trust me, but I was told that you could help me find someone who is important to me…” She sounded really sketchy… but she could also be telling the truth. Meaning that I had to choose whether or not to let her in.
“I can…" Just when I said that though, I saw her walk up to me and move her hand to her waist. Thinking that she was going to draw her blade that she had on her waist, I immediately brought out one of my one swords by summoning it, causing her to back up in the process and whisk out her shield. "…but I want you to prove to me that you are who you say you are,” I told her, not taking any chances. She had weapons and so did I. So that only made me think one thing. “Beat me in a duel and I’ll agree to help you. I believe that seems fair enough.”
“Okay then mister… who are you?” She then asked, causing me to sigh a little as I had my second blade form in my opposite hand.
“If you beat me, I will also tell you who I am.” I stated. We both stared down one another, the stars providing the only light that shined over the basin as I gripped my weapons, letting the pulse in my dragon arm change back to aura.
Soon, both of us took a deep breath and stepped forward… The fight had just begun.
End Chapter 23
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God-fucking-dammit Blueblood, shut up already! Although, I'm curious about this new Displaced character. I wonder if she is who she is?
7433895 it's Athena from borderlands the pre sequel as Ken's mom I think
7436423 I know what character she is, I was just suspecting her to be Ken's mother. If that's true.
7436524 oh okay srry
7436531 No worries.