Ah Divulge. I Confront.
Chapter 5: Ah Divulge. I Comfort.
As they marched to Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight kept examining the pylon rock that Zeratul gave to her.
"So... Zeratul. Could you explain how this rock is very important to your civilization." she asked.
"That 'rock' as you call it was part of a Pylon. The Pylon is a rock infused with energy that can power up our structures and our defenses. It can be said that without Pylons, we cannot live in a safe infrastructural environment." Zeratul explained as Twilight glared at the rock.
"In short, you need to construct additional Pylons in order to live?" Zeratul closed his eyes, remembering a certain voice that kept telling him to do that, every, single, time, and nodded.
"That's fascinating!" exclaimed Twilight "I can't wait to show this to a friend of mine." As she said those words, Sweet Apple Acres was in sight.
The verdant terrain was slowly in sight of the Princess and her alien guest. Zeratul couldn't believe his eyes: Never in his life he has seen greenery being so radiant, so lush, so rich. He put his hands in front of him.
"In all my life as a Protoss, I have traveled countless planets, visited numerous places. But never in my life have I seen such... a beautiful scene." he was at a loss of words. Twilight just stared at him.
"It is just an apple tree farm, Zeratul. Nothing big about it." she said.
"Apple? What, pray tell, is an apple friend Twilight?" he asked the question genuinely. Even Raynor didn't tell him about everything they had on their home planet after all.
"Oh... I am sorry! I forgot that you do not eat. Apples are fruits that are essential for our lives as ponies. The Apple family in all over Equestria are responsible for the business." explained Twilight as Zeratul approached one tree. He touched it, feeling its life energy.
"It's brimming with life. I can understand why you ponies must like these fruits" he said, looking upwards to see the red fruits themselves "and that must be the fruit in question." He blinked upwards, gently took an apple and blinked back. Twilight's eyes however blinked at him blinking back and forth.
"W-was that teleportation, Zeratul?" she asked.
"Ah no, friend Twilight. That is blink. Unlike the warp gates we use to teleport ourselves, blink allows us to... well blink out of existence and then reappear in a short distance." Twilight nodded at the explanation as she took note. Zeratul handed her the apple which she took by magic and started eating it.
"I assume friend Applejack is the one taking care of this farm?" she nodded "If so, then she did a great job: The energy of that tree is... very unique. It is a new feeling that I got when I got in contact with it. Pity I do not feed on essence or else I would gladly have a taste."
"Essence?" asked Twilight.
"I'll explain later." said Zeratul with a hint of sadness. The two were interrupted by a yell: It was Applebloom trotting in their way.
"Hi, Twilight" she greeted "and Mr Alien who fixed Scootaloo's wings is here too?! Welcome to our apple orchard. Ah have to say, you did a miracle there, mister. Scootaloo is flying like crazy." She laughed innocently. Zeratul looked at her then closed his eyes.
"Our children will never be as innocent as this little one." he thought. Twilight noticed the deep thought of the Dark Templar and decided to comfort him.
"I do not know what you have experienced in the past, Zeratul, but if there is anything you want to talk about, I am available to listen." she said. Zeratul opened his eyes and looked at Twilight, and then at Applebloom, who was still grinning widely.
"I'll take upon your offer one day, friend Twilight." he just said.
The three continued walking towards the Apples' house as they encountered Applejack applebucking trees on their way. When Applejack saw Zeratul, she stopped bucking the apples, tilted her hat down without even looking at him. The Templar noticed her actions.
"Twilight" he said in a grim tone that startled her a bit "Take the little one and get inside the house."
"What? But wha-" Twilight was about to speak, terror in her eyes.
"No questions! Trust me, please. Your friend Applejack wants to speak with me, in private." He exclaimed. Earning a confused nod from Twilight, she took Applebloom and went inside.
"Follow me." was all what Applejack said as Zeratul simply obeyed.
As Zeratul followed Applejack to their destination, the latter was curious about something.
"How did ya know about me wanting you in private?"
"It doesn't have to be a Protoss to see that you are clearly in distress, friend Applejack." answered Zeratul "I have felt that you were eyeing me since yesterday so I decided that we speak about it." Applejack nodded as they stopped in front of a brown, old but rather well-kept cellar door.
"We're here." spoke Applejack, taking a deep breath. "Nopony here but Granny knows about this here door. And only I have the key for it." She removed her hat, took the small key and opened the creaky door. "Better have it in mah possession all the time rather than leaving it around."
They entered the cellar as Applejack lighted a lantern and carried it with her mouth.
"That is rather... unpractical, friend Applejack. If you'll allow me, I'll carry that for you." proposed Zeratul as he extended his hand. Applejack couldn't help but agree, saying thanks along the way. The cellar in itself was damp and dark within its long corridors. Needless to say, it was rather big and empty for it to be a regular cellar. The two of them walked and walked deeper and deeper until they finally arrived towards their destination: It didn't take long for Zeratul to deduce it was a pedestal covered nearly whole with a red drape. Zeratul hung the lantern into a nearby rusty nail as Applejack turned facing him.
"This is it. The moment of truth. Ah'll finally unveil this mystery and reveal it once and for all." She muttered. Zeratul raised a brow at the statement.
"What do you mean by that, friend Applejack?"
"What Ah mean, Zeratul..." she said, grabbing the drape by her teeth. "Ish THIS!" she removed it, dust covering the room, making Applejack cough for a bit. "It's not the first time that Ah see that... arm thingy of yours." The dust dissipated to finally reveal what's under the curtains: It was a glass box on the pedestal and within it was a small golden tube-shaped object encrusted with a blue crystal in its center. Zeratul's eyes widened as he approached the object in question, very familiar with it.
"It... cannot be..." he said, words failing to escape his... well... mind. "But... this is... impossible."
"Ah didn't want to believe it at first but your reaction leaves no room for a doubt." deduced Applejack "That there thing has the same design as your doohickeys." But Zeratul was too busy focusing on the reality in front of him: A Protoss artifact was revealed before his very eyes yet he is certain that he was the only one of his kind on this very planet. Unless...
"Tell me, friend Applejack and please answer me honestly," Zeratul demanded "How in the Xel'Naga's name did you get this?!" Applejack put a hoof on her chin but decided to trust him on the matter.
"According to what Granny told me, that there thing is a family heirloom." Applejack stated "It was given to the First Apple to ever exist many years ago. It was passed to every Apple from generation to generation as the First Apple decreed it in his testament." She pointed at the pedestal that read:
Whenever an Apple matures long enough, please do entrust this into his or her care as long as my lineage lives on. One day, it will be of a great purpose for the future of Ponykind.
Signed, Apple the First.
Zeratul looked at the inscriptions carefully and back at Applejack, who nodded at him. He put his hand on his veil then on his face.
"Are you sure he didn't say anything else?! Anything that relates to the origin of this artifact?" he asked.
"Ah'm not sure, Zeratul." said Applejack, chuckling "Ah mean ah wasn't living with him to know every darn thing... That's why ah brought you cause ah thought you would know."
"I swear on my honor as a Dark Templar that I have never seen this artifact my whole life, friend Applejack. I am sorry to disappoint you." upon hearing this, Applejack's head dropped. "But know this: This artifact is indeed Protoss-made."
"Huh? Then what does it mean for it to be here, in our planet?"
"There is but one possible explanation: I am not the first Protoss to arrive here." concluded Zeratul. Applejack gasped loudly as she nodded in understanding. That could be the only conclusion possible.
"But here is another question..." Applejack resumed "Why in Equestria does nopony know about his existence?"
"That... is indeed the question, friend Applejack. Alas, I do not have its answer. Since this is a family heirloom as you mentioned, it is yours by right, made by Protoss or not. It is you who decides whatever to do with it: Do you want to divulge its secrets to your friends so that they can help you, or does this conversation never leaves this room until the right moment occurs?" Applejack slowly nodded at his reasoning. "May I take a closer look into it?"
"Be my guest. Ah tried to figure the darn thing myself for a long time, without success." Zeratul nodded has he removed the glass box, gently put it aside, and grasped the Protoss artifact for the first time. He closed his eyes and tried to connect with it.
"It seems this is a weapon: A Psi weapon to be precise." Zeratul affirmed.
"A weapon?! You mean to say that our family heirloom of years and years ago is a weapon? A bona-fide, made to kill weapon?" It was outrageous for the Apple family to possess such a thing was unheard of. Equestria wasn't in a major war for the last 800 years or so therefore the fact that they had a weapon baffled Applejack and shook her belief. "Ah want proof that this is a weapon, Zeratul. This ain't a joking matter anymore."
"If you insist, friend Applejack. Even though I am not supposed to use Khala-based weapons, I shall honor your request." Zeratul said as he focused energy into the weapon. The crystal glowed a deep blue color as one of its extensions released a squiggly beam of energy. Hadn't Zeratul controlled it in time, it would have sliced the pedestal in half.
"In all my life as a Protoss, I have never seen a Protoss weapon take such a shape." But Applejack knew exactly the shape of the weapon in question. It was unmistakably...
"A whip... a whatever-you-say-it-was-made-of whip... Ah can't believe it. The darn thing was a weapon all along after all." Applejack sat down in disbelief as Zeratul deactivated the Psi-whip in question. He handled it to her.
"Ah don't want it!" she shook her head, looking at it fearfully. Zeratul closed his eyes and patted Applejack's head as if she was a little filly. Applejack's teary eyes widened as she looked up to him.
"Remember the will of your ancestor, friend Applejack. You fear that this weapon would cause harm, tarnish reputations and bring doom to your world. Even I at first thought that this planet is a place made in heaven, but there has to be signs of war somewhere. Nothing is built from scratch, nothing is lost, everything transforms. What I mean is in order to achieve peace, wars and conflicts have had to happen. Didn't you ever have a conflict, friend Applejack, not even the slightest misunderstanding that could cause any downfall? A war is, as I told you before in my story, a conflict in the larger scale. We try to avoid it but it comes back one day." He placed the weapon in front of her and headed towards the exit, lighting his Warp blade.
"As I said before, friend Applejack, it is you who decides..." his voice echoed through the corridors as he left her in her own decisions.
As Zeratul left the cellar and headed towards the farm, he heard hoof beats coming towards him. It was both Twilight, Applebloom and the little unicorn filly from before.
"ZERATUL!" yelled Twilight "You have to come and help right now." Zeratul was confused by the request and sudden outburst.
"What has occurred that needs my assistance, friend Twilight."
"I-it's Scootaloo... s-she's... in pain." the little filly cried. Zeratul's eyes widened as he knelled onto the ground, slamming it. He knew it was the little flightless orange pegasus filly he healed before.
"Now is not the time to be desperate. Follow us! This way!" barked Twilight as they headed towards the CMC club. Zeratul hastily followed them, blinking away.
"What have I done? By the Xel'Naga what have I done?!" he thought, fearing the worst.
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Starcraft have lots of books, you can find them all in the internet, read them all, they are awsome, and in some apears zeratul, and his personality very well explained.
8014347
i know, I know that. But I have decided that I'm going to do with whatever I personally know rather than delve into the whole lore thing. Again, this is a fanfiction: Not everything has so be 100% accurate! Also, Protoss lore is very deep and confusing and since I just came back, I'd rather take it a bit slow, even if I know whatever chapters I currently have in planning. By a bit slow I mean lore-wise, not updating the story wise.
Good chapter
I don't know jack about any of the starcraft lore, but I'm guessing whatever he used to heal Scootaloo was only temporary?
8014463
I don't know JACKSHIT about Starcraft Lore too (Very limited knowledge) BUT all about Scootaloo will be explained next chapter! THAT I promise you!
Please... i want Scootaloo to be ok and able to fly
MOOOOOOOORRRRRRRREEEEEE!!!!!!