• Published 12th Oct 2015
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Bound by Scales - FrostTheWolf



[Displaced][Scalebound Crossover] Normally, dragons are fierce predators. But for one guy, ending up in Equestria causes a powerful dragon to become his greatest Ally

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5- Crystal Conundrums

Bound by Scales- Crystal Conundrums


Point of View: Ken


Spike was stunned. I can tell just by looking at the young drake. On the trip back to the temple, he had been saying about how curious he was to discover his ancestors. Now, his father was right in front of him, greeting him warmly and holding him close. Not wanting to let go at all like a parent who did not want to lose their only child. Personally, I did not have any experience regarding such feelings. But I could tell that their reunion was emotional.

Applejack was quite surprised herself. So, off to the side while Revaan was explaining everything to his son, I began to answer any questions she might have based on the information the Onyx Dragon told me. Soon, I walked with the earth pony here into another room to give the two family members some space. In the grand hall though, she told me that this temple reminded her of Canterlot Castle or someplace like they while we continued our conversation. However, at one stage, she asked something that really threw me off guard.

“Doesn’t it get lonely in here? Ah mean… living here with just yourself… Revaan… and the rest of the town?”

Now I felt like I was pushed into a corner. If I told her no, then she might suspect about some other things. If I told her yes, then she may persist on a separate subject related to that. God I felt like I was stuck between a rock and a really hard place that can tell if you are being truthful or not. “Well… That’s… complicated.”

“Complicated?” Applejack retorted. “Ah asked a simple yes or no, question Ken. Ah don’t think answering that is complicated.”

“I know. Revaan and I live here, but there are going to be more people like me living here in due time.” From there, I told her about how I found out about the Displaced from Zinnia and about her offering for Revaan and I to join the herd she was forming, or in dragonspeak, Hoard. I told her how she was telling me about how she wanted it to be like family to her and how Revaan offered this temple to be the home of the Kazoku family.

“Wow… that’s… quite something,” The mare told me, once she had fully taken in everything I had to say at that moment in time. But what she said back to me was something that I was really surprised by. “So… are you looking for any members right now?”

“Wait, you want to-?”

“Ah’m not gonna lie Ken, the first time I saw ya earlier today, you looked pretty cute despite you being very clumsy.” Applejack told me, looking back at me with those emerald orbs she had for eyes. “But now that I have gotten the chance to get to know you a little better, I already see you as a very good friend. Heck, I bet even Twilight does as well.” I wasn’t too sure on that last part given the numerous amount of times that they called me a complex human being… Meh, roll with it.

Around then though was when I felt a strong pull occur from behind me. I knew what it was and springed out the door to the Onyx Dragon that was my partner. “Revaan, we’re getting summoned!!”

“Now? Geez, it’s almost been two days and we have attracted a lot of attention already.” Revaan turned to Spike and Applejack while Twilight was coming up with Rainbow Dash and Maple Leaf.

“Revaan and I are being summoned right now. We will be back by morning,” I told them as the pulling sensation increased. “You’re welcome to stay here tonight. We can provide a ride for you in the morning.” With that though, the energy of what was pulling the two of us through got stronger as we disappeared into the void.


Meanwhile

Celestia did her best to pretend not to be bored during day court. It was nearly over and she honestly had better things to do; one of those things being to head to the resurfaced Crystal Empire with Luna after she heard from Twilight that her old friends the Crystal Gems had returned with it. Luna was probably ready by now and waiting impatiently for her.

This was the last noble for the day and he appeared to be nearly done. She thanked him for coming and rushed out to where the chariot was waiting with her sister waiting as impatiently as she predicted.

“There you are sister!” Luna sighed in relief. “I was beginning to think that you wouldn’t be here.”

“You know I have day court sister, but that is not important right now.” The sun princess shook her head and nuzzled her sister before facing the pegasi flying the chariot. She was about to give the order to head to the empire but something landed on Luna’s head.

“Ouch!” She rubbed her head before levitating the item in front of her. “How odd.” She inspected the item. “It’s a… dragon scale.” She looked up to see if she could spot the shedding dragon that dropped it, but the sky was as clear as ever. The scale was fairly light for its size, with a dark onyx colouring. Suddenly as she was inspecting it, an unknown voice spoke in Luna’s head.

“I am Ken Ahkrin, The Scalebound. Call upon me if you need some help, advice or want to tip the scales in your favor.”

Suddenly, there was a bright light and they saw something large pop up above them.


The six (or seven) Gems were relaxing in the palace, or rather on top of it. They had been very busy over the past few weeks and at the moment just wanted some peace and quiet. They had finished cleaning up all the damage Sombra left and had been excused by Cadence and Shining Armor.

“It feels strange yet… pleasurable to have a break.” Peridot admitted as she was working on building her escape pod.

“I suppose so.” Pearl agreed. “Though I do have this urge to fold laundry.”

“How did you guys get displaced anyway?” Lapis asked, gesturing to the Crystal Gems.

“We were just getting ready for a convention putting the finishing touches on our costumes.” Garnet began.

“Then we found out we had the actual gems missing.” Amethyst continued.

“Who was meant to write down what we needed again?” Pearl asked, setting her gaze on the shortest member of their team.

“Anyway.” The purple gem waved her hand dismissively. “We met this jeweler guy on the street and he was selling stones really cheap so we decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and bought them. Next thing you know… Equestria! What about you guys?”

“Ours aren’t exactly like that… at all.” Jasper replied. “My gem was a gift from my mum for winning a boxing match. I’m not one for jewelry but it meant a lot so I took it.”

“Mine was a birthday gift for my mother. She’s a geologist so I thought she likes this sort of thing.” Peridot explained.

“Mine just fell into my pocket after I bumped into some guy selling the gems.” They all thought about it for a moment before Garnet suddenly sat up.

“We need to go to Canterlot.” She said plainly, catching the attention of all the other gems.

“What? Why?” Peridot questioned.

“There’s a dragon rampaging, now let’s go.” She got up and bolted off, leaving the others to scramble up and follow.


Point of View: Ken


The moment Revaan and I were thrown out of the vortex that called us, trouble just seemed to follow. First off, we were flung forward into some… chariot thingy with actual passengers on board. Revaan and I did out best to dodge them, but the same thing couldn’t be said for the wall that we collided into.

“You okay, big guy?” I asked, slowly trying to get up after plummeting from who knows how many feet.

“Y-yeah… Nothing too serious… I don’t think the same can be said for the ponies above us.” Raising an eyebrow, I looked up to notice two of them casting spells.

“Aw crap. Revaan, Run!!” I yelled to him, barely avoiding the blast that was fired at me. Until Revaan point out to me something that I had not noticed previously.

“Ken, if I tried to run, it’ll just cause the walls to break!”

“Then stay in the air and don’t hurt any of them!!” I shouted back. “This is all a big misunderstanding and until we find a way to fix it, we’ll be sitting ducks if we don’t move!” The dragon nodded, taking into the air while I continued to run along the walls. One of the spellcasters that fired at us went after me in pursuit while the other one went after Revaan. I just hope he doesn’t cause any mass panic because of all of this.

“Halt!” The Equine snapped as she glared at me. “Why do you threaten my little ponies?” Her horn was alight and aimed at me while Revaan was being chased by her accomplice. “Answer and your sentence will be less severe!”

“What the hell are you talking about!? I’m not threatening anyone!! You’re the one that summoned me!!!” I shouted, still trying to outrun a few guards. I had to juke left and right like a running back during a football game before using my dragon arm to grapple onto a rooftop and continue running.

My pursuer though, flew up after me and shot a blast of magic right next to my leg. “That was a warning shot, and you will not run from me, nor will you yell!” She demanded, despite being on the verge of shouting herself.

“I’m running, because you’re trying to kill someone that didn’t do anything wrong!” I told her, now approaching the rooftop of the castle overlooking the town. “Now that I think of it, that sounds kind of hypocritical-.” Another shot of magic was fired, but this time, I had to use his dragon arm to block the blast. “Okay, that was uncalled for!”

“You speak to me of hypocrisy when when come here and endanger our ponies lives?” She narrowed her eyes, not believing a word I was telling her. “That is what’s uncalled for!”

“With all due respect, I haven’t even attacked you or have even drawn my sword. I’ve even told Revaan to not hurt anyone either because this entire thing is a misunderstanding!” While they were talking, the guards were attempting to subdue Revaan but he knocked them away, being careful not to break the wall and endure the blasts of magic.

“Can’t you just listen to me for ten seconds!? I know that you care for your subjects and believe that Revaan would harm them, but don’t hurt him!!” The aforementioned dragon knocked the other winged unicorn away after having enough magic being cast on him. After seeing this though, my pursuer retaliated and this time, she sent a larger blast towards me.

“Ken, NO!”

Revaan’s plea was too late though. I was forced to take the blast head on. Thankfully, my dragon arm had taken most of the hit, but I had been hit in the chest. At that time, this pony had also noticed him roar in pain and seemed to be placing its paw in the same place as it landed in the fields below.

She flew towards where I had crash landed and carefully stepped forward to see if I was down, with her horn lit up just in case. The smoke concealed a lot of her vision while she heard the dragon roar. She turned around to see it headed towards her, with the other pony flying after it.

“Revaan! Stay back!!” I told her, trying to get on my feet. “I told you not to hurt him. Hurting me won’t change a thing. If I get hurt, he gets hurt. If I die, he dies. Our souls are linked.” Calming down, I tried to not do anything that would impose the pony in front of me to attack. “Now, can we please for the love of all things holy just talk this out-?” I was interrupted when a spear landed in between us. Both ponies went wide- eyed, both equally surprised as it disappeared just as quickly as is arrived, vanishing into thin air. A tall humanoid landed in front of them and summoned another spear from her forehead, while more of them soon jumped in as well with their weapons ready.

“Seriously!? One mistake leads to a group of people trying to kill us? I was just responding to getting summoned for god sake’s!!”

“You were right about the dragon Garnet.” One of them, who was called Amethyst commented. “I did not expect to see Canterlot in chaos.” She chuckled lightly while the others stayed as they were.

“Hey, It’s not my freaking fault!!” I told her, “She was trying to kill me!! I was telling Revaan not to hurt anyone-... Wait a second… who are you people?”

“We are the Crystal Gems!” Another one of them yelled cheerfully, valiantly raising her spear while the one who had just spoke had her hand met her face.

“Okay…… Never heard of you guys before… then again, I’m not sure if you heard of a Scalebound either so I’m not one to judge.” I sighed. “Garnet” stared at me, but eased up a bit. Soon though, I felt water beginning to encircle around me, grabbing my arm and covering my whole body as it began to freeze over.

“Hey there, I’m Lapis Lazuli, quick question…” She began. “What it going on?!” Asking no one in particular.

“You tell me,” I sighed. “My partner Revaan and I were answering someone summoning us and the next thing we know, he and I are getting attacked by these two because they thought we were endangering lives. We didn’t even attack them, but they attacked me and hurt my pal because of it.” Lapis looked back at the white pony with the teal mane and sun cutie mark on her flank, who had a blush on her face but shook her head.

“You appeared out of nowhere and landed in the middle of Canterlot!” She shot back. “What was I supposed to do? And I haven’t even mentioned your dragon friend yet!”

“We can’t appear out of nowhere! We’re only brought here when someone finds our summoning token!! Did you or your friend see an Onyx Dragon Scale at all?” I asked, holding up an extra scale I kept in my back pocket. The blush returned to the pony’s face. It seemed like something began to click inside her mind as she looked back at her “sister”.

“Can you let me out of the ice now?” I asked Lapis. She soon nodded to me and the ice soon melted.

“You may want to shower when you get back to your Equestria; that water was from nearby toilets.”

“And just when I thought things were settling down…” Revaan mumbled. I looked back at him, rolling my eyes a little as I turned back to look back at these… gems.

“And just when I thought that the time Zinnia was in our universe was crazy enough.” I sighed, facepalming myself with my right arm. To my surprise though, the name had seemed to surprise the gems.

"Zinnia?" another one, this time named Jasper asked. "As in Pokemon displaced, bisexual, loves making sex jokes at every opportunity Zinnia?"

“Yes her. She even had us be part of her… hoard. Don’t even get me started when things got…”

“Out of hand.” Revaan finished.

"Dear god." The cheerful one put her hand on her face. "Please don't expand, we don't want to hear anymore."

“I’m not going to say anymore…” I retorted. “Not only that, she helped me get my token out and has Mega Evolution.”

"She help us make our tokens as well." This time, the one the group knew as Peridot spoke. "After she assisted us in taking back the Crystal Empire from King Sombra."

“ … I’m not familiar with the Empire or this Sombra guy, but he sounds a lot like a Raditz.” Pausing a minute, I looked around me and noticed that the building really gave me the feeling that it might come down on top of my head. “So, should we talk about this in someplace that might not crumble on top of our heads?”

"Indeed." The green gem agreed as both equines just simply stood there, slack- jawed. We all soon moved into a clearing down below at the base of the mountain, once the two ponies regained their composure. That way, there was enough space for Revaan to stretch out his wings without knocking anything over accidently. This was when the Gems could also see me fully and not in the shadowy darkness I was previously in.

“Okay… do you have any questions for me?” I asked them

“Uuh what’s with your arm?” Amethyst pointed at my right arm in curiosity.

“Well, that’s the thing… I’m a Scalebound. Revaan and I have a pact in place where we are partners. Basically, our souls are linked and my arm represents that link. So if I get hurt, he gets hurt and if I die… he dies.”

“... Huh.” She nodded.

“But this also means that I have some abilities as well. For one thing, the energy that I have can be used by my arm like a grappling hook. Pull myself towards something or pull something to me.” I said, soon formulating a question to ask them. “What about you guys?”

“Well, we’re Gems.” Pearl explained. “Our bodies are just physical projections made by our gemstones, like the one on my forehead.” She pointed to her gem before continuing. “They are the core of our being and the only ‘real’ part of us. The rest… well I’ve already told you that. Because of this, we can shapeshift and summon weapons.” Once again, she used herself as an example and brought out her spear.

“Is this gonna be on the test?” Amethyst asked jokingly. Pearl shook her head and continued.

“Anyway, If our physical forms get too damaged then we revert back into our gems to recover. The time can range from hours to weeks for us to properly reform. If, on the other hand, our gems get damaged then it can cause our form to become… impaired.”

“Interesting.” I replied, a bit amused by the capabilities these gems had. “That reminds me of one… other thing that I can do when in combat and the situation calls for it. My dragon armor form.” Within a few seconds, I activated my Dragon Armor for them to see before returning back to normal. “What do you think?”

“I don’t know about the others, but I think that’s awesome.” Jasper complimented.

“The feeling is not exclusive to her.” Peridot nodded.

“Yeah, and I guess we should show you ours as well.” Lapis stepped forward and two wings made of water sprouted from the gem on her back. “It may not look like it, but I can actually fly with these.” She smiled.

“I’m up next.” Jasper’s gem glowed and a crash helmet appeared on her head. Amethyst pulled her whip out while Garnet brought out her gauntlets.

“I prefer to use my limb enhancers.” Peridot mumbled.

“Very nice,” I complimented them. “I’m actually quite jealous of Lapis’ wings actually. As a kid, I always wondered what it felt like to fly.”

“It really is an amazing feeling.” Lapis sighed. “Even now, It’s still kind of hard to believe that I have wings in the first place. Peridot can also fly with her fingers.”

“Same can be said about my arm. Even though Revaan taught me how to fight with a sword.” I told her, pointing to the blade’s hilt. I didn’t unsheath it, but instead, I placed my headphones on. I don’t want to provoke any unnecessary violence. “I’m guessing that you would like to see it?”

“It’d be nice, yeah.” Garnet admitted. I smirked, taking out the blade from the sheath that was on my back, showing it to them. It was just as long as my arm and I was quite capable with using the weapon and quickly flipped the blades around, still holding onto the hilt.

“Normally, I would wield two blades, but I’m still trying to be familiar with all the weapons back at the temple armory in my world. Seriously, there are a LOT of weapons from what I was told.” I told them, remembering when I briefly had a look at the armory. “So… back to something I said earlier… did any of you happen to find an Onyx Dragon scale earlier? Because that’s my token.” The gems looked at each other and shrugged.

“That would be me.” The pony, who I soon found out her name was Luna raised her hoof. “It landed on my head as we were preparing to visit old friends.” She looked at the Crystal Gems. I myself, was quite surprised.

“I’m sorry that it hit you on the head. Even though it’s my token, I don’t have control over how it gets to other people’s worlds.” I sighed. Even Revaan himself was about to apologize. That was, until Luna interjected before the dragon had the chance to speak to the princess.

“If you cannot control it, then there is no need to apologize so profusely.” She shook her head.

“Well to be fair, you and Celestia have been known to act without thinking.” Jasper smirked.

“Would that explain her trying to kill me and cause me to run for my life?”

“Why, yes it would.” Peridot nodded.

“Well, that makes a lot of sense. It also might explain how Luna tried to take on Revaan all by herself. He is an Onyx dragon after all and the last of his kind. He has a son to get back to for god’s sake.”

“In all my years, I have never heard of such a dragon.” Celestia piped up.

“Back in our world, they’re the only kind of dragon that wanted to get along with the neighboring species,” Revaan informed her. “They’re also capable of using many kinds of magic. I’m just thankful to see my son again. I haven’t seen Spike since he was still in his egg.”

“Yeah, none of us have really seen our families in over 1,000 years, but we have each other, and we’re the best we’ve got.”

“That’s the most important thing-.”

“Pardon?” Celestia interjected with a frown at one part that Revaan had said. “Who did you say your son was?”

“Spike.” Revaan said the name again.

“But that can’t be right, you two look nothing alike..”

“His scales are the same as my mate, Coryena. However… she was killed in battle when he was still in his egg. I used the last of my magic on that night to sent his egg to someplace where it would be safe from harm.” Revaan told her, recalling the events of what happened. “For you though, the circumstances might be different. But in the world where I’m from, my magic was the reason why his egg showed up on my Celestia’s doorstep. He is still a child, but in time, he will grow as he ages.”

“Different universe, different rules Celly.” Lapis piped up.

“Still, I must look into this.”

“If you are, I must warn you on something. Do not let Spike eat any gems until he is at least two years old to where his brain and body is developed enough beforehand. Gems, except for you guys,” he told Peridot and the gang briefly. “cause there bodies to evolve and grow. But too many gems at a young age may affect him to where his greed might drive him overboard and cause him to go on a rampage to have whatever he desires.”

“Alright, I will make sure that that does not happen because I know it has not already.”

“ …… You’re bad with lying.” Revaan sighed, facepawing himself as he looked back at them. “Ken, I think we should go back to the temple soon… unless of course there’s something else that you need to take care of.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. Tokens…” I remembered. “Do you guys have a token or tokens by any chance?”

“Um yes, here.” Lapis stepped forward and handed them the symbol of the Homeworld Gems, that was very similar to the triforce from Legend of Zelda, except all of the triangles were different colour. One was green, one was orange and the other was blue. The Crystal Gems then handed them a small star with gems on each point except the top. I smiled, exchanging it with another one of my tokens to the Crystal Gems while I let Luna hand the scale she found to the Homeworld Gems.

“Alright, seems like we’re done here. I guess you know how to send us back?”

“Sure… Hey, is there anything you want or need, by the way?”

I raised an eyebrow, unsure of what they meant. “What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t know, we had this huge misunderstanding with Canterlot and now we’re here, so yeah.”

“How about if I need something, I’ll summon you to my world and we can talk it out there?” I suggested to them. “I might not need anything now, but maybe later on I might so I’ll let you guys know then.”

“Alright, I guess we’ll see you guys.” Lapis, as well as the others, waved them goodbye.

“...... You know, we only go back once the one who summoned us says our contract is complete right?” I told them, looking back at the Princesses. “Luna?”

“We were just being polite.” Peridot rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“I understand that. I’ll miss you guys.” I replied to her, waving goodbye.

“Very well, young Ken.” Luna nodded. “I deeply apologize for the misunderstanding.”

“I am also sorry.” Celestia added.

“Now our contract is complete.” With that, we both went back into the rift in the void that brought us to this world in the first place. I hoped everything was going well back at the temple though… And that we weren’t gone for too long.


Dragon Temple

Once we got back to the temple, Revaan and I noticed a few… different things. For one thing, it was late afternoon and almost evening and the rays of the sun were beginning to dim outside. But the main thing that caught my attention was the sight in front of me. Twilight Sparkle was channeling her magic and creating a stable rift of sorts encased in a mirror. The reflection of the mirror showed the inside of her home and Spike inside it with a couple of ponies I could not recognize. One thing that I did see though is Applejack, and she was the first one to notice the two of us.

“Ah, there ya are. Ah was wondering when ya’ll be back.”

“Thanks AJ,” I told her. “What’s Twilight doing?”

“Well, remember when you told her how you traveled from the Badlands all the way to Sweet Apple Acres?” The Earth Pony asked. I nodded my head as Revaan excused himself to retire to his personal chambers. I can tell that he needed sleep, so I didn’t object. “Twilight decided to help ya by creating a portal that allows ya to go from here to her castle lickety split.”

“So I don’t need to spend thirty minutes walking into danger. That’s smart.” Ken smiled. “Thanks girls. I really appreciate it-.”

“That’s not the… only thing.” Applejack told me. “Tomorrow, you’re going to get the chance to meet the rest of mah friends and the princesses too. Not only that, but ah finally came to a decision.”

“A decision?” Around now, I was really confused as I saw Twilight head through the portal, waving goodbye to us and leaving us alone. “A decision on what?”

“About what you were saying earlier… about the hoard?” Oh great… God, if you’re listening to me, please just kill me where I-. “Ah want to be a part of it.”

Wait, what? “A-are you serious!?” I asked her, just to make sure that I was hearing her correctly. She nodded, explaining to me that she wanted to get the chance to know me more and that the best way to do it was to be part of my section of Zinnia’s hoard. All that got me thinking about was a few things that I had to point out to her. First, she had to meet Zinnia… Second, she had to go through the… induction ceremony. The third thing I thought of, which I soon told her was the fact that I was Pony Sterile. But, to my surprise, she had already known that from talking to Maple.

“Listen Ken… She told me about how you can only breed dragons and humans… Not to mention the fact that I really like you… So, ah asked Twilight for a favor.”

“A favor?”

“She gave me a special potion that allows me to temporarily turn into a dragon. That way, it’s not a problem.” She smiled, looking back at me. “So… When do I get to meet this Zinnia?” I sighed, having her follow me into my quarters as I grabbed her token from a bookcase I now used to store any tokens and trinkets I acquired from other Displaced along with placing my sword and headphones on there too.

“Just hang tight okay? I need to talk to her about something, so use the chance to get yourself some dinner-.”

“No need, Ken. Ah already ate.”

“O… kay then, just wait there.” I told her. She nodded her head as I stepped back out into the center of the Temple, sighing a little. Holding the Anklet, I soon began to channel the right amount of energy into the token as I said a few words.

Zinnia, there’s someone I like for you to meet.”


Point of View: Revaan


I had retired to my quarters for the rest of the evening after our… encounter with the gems because they got me thinking about something. A name. Zinnia had said before that we were going to have a branch of the hoard as our own and with that in mind, I needed a name for it. It was also the reason why I was looking through the history scrolls that I had kept in here. I needed to remember a name. A very important one.

Ah, there it is. Chroma. First ever dragon of our kind and a master of elemental magic. The name fit well given the capabilities of myself and what Ken will be able to learn in due time. Now though, I needed to sleep.

But of course, that was hard to do with the Draconid around-. Wait a second… Why do I smell three of them-? Oh ancestors, is that the Apple Mare from earlier!? Ken, what have you gotten yourself into?


End Chapter 5

Author's Note:

Crossover with Gems of Power by WezzaHD that contains some spoilers for a future chapter on his end. Here, we see what shenanigans happen when a Dragon crashes into Canterlot.


Ken's inventory:
-Combat Sword x2
-Recurve bow and Quiver
-Zinnia's Curved Band
-Onyx Dragon Scale
-Small rubber ball
-Homeworld Tri-Force
-Crystalline Stars


New Companions: None

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