Chapter 16: Making Plans
Take the offer.
“We’ll take them,” Starlight said. “But I’ll need to make sure I can get the right magical protection on these. Students, you can rest while I take care of that.” Starlight focused and a barrier formed around the armor and cape.
Storm Surge kept rubbing his beak. Silverstream thought he looked very tired, and the way he had looked in the fight had been as frightening as any storm creature. He had a regal but dangerous look to him.
He laughed softly. “If you can keep those away from Nightmare and Shade, it will make things easier for me, but they might also come after you. It will take them some time to regain their strength after that fight. Now I have some redecorating to do.”
Silverstream followed after the unusual hippogriffs, but Saffron ran over to Smolder.
“Wait! Maybe I could help? I’m Queen Novo’s niece, so I’d be happy to help hippogriffs like you get back to Mt. Aris.”
Storm Surge broke into a fit of uncontrolled laughter. “Mt. Aris? The queen? I serve far greater beings now.” He stepped back into the throne room and snapped his talons.
The hideous tentacled monsters slowly began to stir as he channeled his chaotic magic around them. They rose and started clearing away the rubble. Silverstream watched as they dug out glowing stones etched with runes and crushed the stones to dust. Even watching them move made Silverstream shiver, so she turned to look at Storm Surge’s guards.
They were all adult hippogriffs, but they’d sometimes transform into other creatures. She watched for a few moments. It didn’t look like they had more than a little control about when they changed or what they changed into, and they all seemed to be in a slight daze. Two of them spoke quietly between themselves.
“That fight…” A seafoam green hippogriff mare said softly. “It reminded me of something. Only just a flash of memory, but I remember standing guard in a nicer castle than this.”
A red and pink hippogriff stallion nodded. “I remembered a little, too. I think I fought windigos in a storm on some island. It seems like another lifetime.”
“Hey! If you need any help remembering, I can tell you all about Seaquestria or Mt. Aris!”
They both stared at Silverstream. Their dazed looks vanished for just a moment.
The mare put a wing around Silverstream. “We’d like that. It’s been so long since we’ve been outside of the chaotic sea we call home now.”
“Oh! I have so much to tell you! And things are so much nicer now that we don’t have to hide.”
Silverstream quickly launched into a long story about her home. The hippogriff guards all gathered around to listen. Silverstream hardly noticed the time passing, but Starlight soon approached.
“We have some food and beds in the other room.”
“I better go. What are your names?”
The hippogriffs all looked confused. The red and pink stallion shook his head. “We are nameless now. A price we paid to chaos… but if we keep going, we can earn new names, like Storm Surge did.”
They certainly were an odd bunch, but Silverstream was happy to meet them. She parted with a quick goodbye. Starlight led the way to the room everyone was staying in. The others were already eating. Silverstream looked over their injuries. They had all fought so bravely. Silverstream felt a little guilty. She had tried to be as tough as Smolder or as fierce as Gallus, but she hadn’t been able to help much in the fight. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any more big battles.
Starlight slid a plate to her. “After all that, eat a good meal. I tried a little food magic to make our meals better. Hopefully it’s as good as what you’d have in Ponyville.”
Silverstream quickly dug in. Starlight had made a passable version of the hayburgers and fries. Her cake wasn’t nearly as good as what Pinkie Pie always made, but her tea was very good. It was a nice chamomile with a hint of orange and spices. With the fresh meal in her stomach, Silverstream could barely walk over to where her friends lay in a pile. She slipped into the space between Gallus and Smolder.
Saffron was sitting next to Smolder. He cleaned off small gems before putting them on Smolder’s plate. Smolder smiled and leaned over to whisper to Silverstream.
“Where’d you find a kobold? You should have seen this guy right after the fight. He told me how awesome I was in the fight and promised to serve me. He said he has a whole tribe at his home that would be happy to go back to serve the dragons in the Dragonlands.”
“Saffron serve strong Smolder,” he said. He finished placing the gems on her plate.
“If you’re done with those gems, you could work on that sore spot on my left wing.”
Silverstream raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t this a bit much? Is he your servant now?”
Smolder laughed. “Basically. But he likes it. The stories all say that kobolds loved to serve strong dragons who could protect them. Ah… that’s the spot.”
“Okay. Just promise to take good care of him.”
“I will. I’d be an idiot to lose the first kobold that any dragons have seen in ages. All the ones in the Dragonlands went extinct in that war we fought with the griffons way before I hatched.”
Starlight looked at all of them. “Before you all sleep or relax, we need to decide what to do and talk about what has happened so far.”
They all spoke about what they had been through, although it seemed like Sandbar didn’t have a lot to say about how he helped Storm Surge.
Slip away from the group and warn her friends.
A dainty knock sounded on the door. Starlight blinked and looked up. The light from the lantern reflected off the light blue chitin and eyes of a changeling.
“Ocellus!” Starlight rushed over and let her in. “Where you’d come from? At least you’re here now. No more missing students.”
“I’m here for now, but I don’t think I can stay. I was barely able to slip past Pince and the other guards.” Ocellus furrowed her brow. “Ah, it’s hard to talk about it. I suppose that’s because of what happened. It might take a while to tell you.”
Ocellus began her story of what happened. She often had to pause and rub her forehead, as if she had a sudden headache. She finally got to the end.
“And so that’s why I can’t stay here. They’ll know I’m missing in the morning.”
Starlight held Ocellus’s hooves. “We could protect you from them. Unless you feel it’s better if you go back.”
“It’s hard to trust myself anymore.”
Silverstream gave Ocellus a hug to cheer her up. “We’re here for you.”
“Thank you. It feels nice to have some honest friendship and love. Dusty Tail gave me something close, but it wasn’t the same.”
Sandbar walked over to the door. “I, uh, need the bathroom.”
Starlight unlocked the door with her magic and let him out. “Okay, Ocellus, have some food before you do anything. And now I’d like a little time to look at that book of yours.” Starlight pulled out the guide book and started to look through it. “This book has all sorts of fascinating information. Different creatures control different territories here. I suspect each of them must have a powerful artifact that could help get us back, like that seal that Grandeur had, but I doubt he’d part with it easily.”
“Scriptus had a magical orb that looked very special,” Silverstream said. “But he also didn’t want to stop using it.”
The faint pop of magic alerted them all to someone in the corner. A lean black griffon stepped out of the shadows.
Starlight’s eyes went wide. “Glissanda! How did you get here?”
Glissanda smiled. “The signet that marks you all created a connection. We have items that can use that to bring me to you. I’m just here to check on you all and remind you of the work you owe Grandeur. You still have a few days to start if you have more urgent things going on, but don’t put it off. The price is always very high for those who go against their contracts.”
“Yes, we know,” Gallus said.
“I’d expect no less from such a promising young griffon.” Glissanda walked over and put a wing on Gallus’s shoulder. Gallus blushed, and Silverstream felt a strange mix of admiration and jealousy for Glissanda.
Glissanda stepped back into the corner and pulled out a golden amulet with a large diamond in the center. “I’ll leave it to you to decide. I have work to go finish.” She vanished with a loud pop.
Sandbar came running back in a few minutes later. “Guys! This strange thing is following me!” As he ran through the door, a floating creature made of crystal zipped in behind him. One of the crystals was shaped like an eye. It glanced around the room and sent out a small wave of magic that swept across the room.
“Pony Sandbar’s information is confirmed,” it said in an odd, humming voice. “Seven creatures from Equus confirmed. Source of temporal and magical anomalies located. Message from Hedron incoming.”
Beams of magical light shot from the floating crystal probe. They slowly formed into the image of a yak, but the yak seemed to also be made of crystal in the image.
“Yes. I think this form will work best for communication. Greetings creatures of Equus. I am a magical construct, designation Hedron. My probe detects that Harmony sent you, but Harmony is also bending time to speed your return home. If this continues too long, temporal damage to this plane will occur. I cannot allow this. I will need the unicorn and at least three of you to come to The Nexus to prevent a temporal desync cascade.”
Starlight scrunched up the end of her nose. “It’s not like we wanted to come here. But, what are you? Your magic is unlike anything I’ve seen. It’s like a mix of the Tree of Harmony, the Crystal Heart, and time magic.”
“The Crystal Empire was built on the ruins of my old chassis in Equestria. Sombra figured out some ways to use what little was left of my magic in those abandoned structures. And Starswirl used old studies about me to help fashion the Tree of Harmony. But I am greater than both those things. However, for the safety of organic creatures, my core was relocated here. Long-term exposure creates changes and dependence in living creatures, such as the changes seen in a small degree among the crystal ponies. To be more precise…”
Silverstream didn’t know what all the magical terms meant as Hedron went on about what he was exactly. Starlight asked plenty of questions and finally seemed satisfied.
“Okay, I think I’m finally understanding the basics,” Starlight said. “Twilight is going to lose her mind when I tell her about you.”
“Why you turn into magic crystal yak?” Yona asked.
“It’s my preferred form when talking to creatures such as you. And I do it to honor Prince Clarion. He and the yaks were essential in helping set up my original core.”
“Prince Clarion?” Yona scratched her chin. “Oh! I remember stories about him! He was a great yak warrior and protected the yaks with magical talismans.”
“Yes, he did use some of my powers to drive off windigos and other creatures, but he is long past. The important thing now is to restore the temporal harmonics. If you help me with that, I can do more to aid you.”
Silverstream flew up and poked at the crystals on the probe. “This thing is so cool!”
“Please refrain from poking it. It is a simple probe, capable of following preset commands or receiving more direct instruction. When you are ready to help with the temporal harmonics, use this crystal to contact me. I cannot leave my probe here, or Storm Surge may destroy it.”
A crystal floated out from the probe. Silverstream took it gently. It was almost clear with a blue coloring to it.
“I better hold onto that,” Starlight said.
“Aw, but it’s so pretty!”
“Yes, but like Hedron said, it has magic that might affect you over time. I’ll hold onto it.”
“Umm, but what about the changelings?” Ocellus asked. “Ah… it’s getting harder to disobey the orders not to take you in. If we don’t fix what’s wrong with me, I might get in the way more than helping.”
“We have a few options,” Starlight said. “It might be best to split up into two groups to get more done. We’ll rest before we head out, but we can’t waste much time. I want everyone to decide what we’re doing before we sleep.”
- Travel to The Nexus to fix the temporal harmonics.
- Find a way to free Ocellus from her bond to Queen Cordys.
- Head back to The Bazaar to complete the contract job for Grandeur.
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I'm sure the others will find a way to break Ocellus away from the queen
“I’d expect no less from such a promising young griffon.” Glissanda walked over and put a wing on Gallus’s shoulder. Gallus blushed, and Silverstream felt a strange mix of admiration and jealousy for Glissanda.
Aww silverstream you do like him 😊