//------------------------------//
// 17- Bug Hunt 
// Story: Bound by Scales 
// by FrostTheWolf 
//------------------------------//


Bound by Scales- Bug Hunt





Point of View: Ken




        When I would think of the changelings and this hive of theirs, I would always personally think of those cy-bugs from Wreck it Ralph because of when they speak of a group of them as a swarm. So much so that when Zektor was actually explaining how the hive operated with swarms out on patrol, I always kept getting reminded of it. Of course, this isn’t Hero's Duty… and no, not that kind of duty either… despite the fact that when Applejack trotted in and was helping us come up with a plan and she strangely reminded me of Sergeant Calhoun from Wreck it Ralph in the process.

        As for Crystal… well… “We could hit the hive and then collapse the tunnels surrounding that area?” She suggested.

        “Sorry, Crystal, but we don’t have the forces or the manpower right now to go for that kind of an assault.” Applejack replied back defiantly. The two of them have been going at it for the last twenty minutes, trying to come up with a plan that they can both agree with. However, so far… everything has been hit and miss.

        “What do you mean we don’t have the right resources? Ken, Revaan and I could probably do it by ourselves.” Crystal pressed the issue, staring defiantly at Applejack.

        “And ah told you that ah wanted part in this. That darn tunnel is connected to mah family’s farm. Therefore, Ah’m going to make sure they don’t get harmed.” The Earth pony shot back. Now seemed like a time for me to intervene.

        “Okay, let’s just calm down for a minute… All we need is information. We should decide what to do after we get that first.” I told both of them, causing them to look towards me.

        “If you want information then why don’t we try that tunnel in the Everfree Castle? Zektor even said that it had been picked clean by now, so it’s most likely been abandoned.” Crystal replied, pointing to the spot on the map before gesturing towards the older changeling.

        “If it’s picked clean, then it would possibly mean that it wouldn’t be of any use to the Queen anymore.” I then said, scratching my chin before looking at Applejack, remembering something. “Hey AJ, remember the buckets with all the apples? How many do we got left?”

        “Six or so, why sugarcube?” She asked, raising an eyebrow and adjusting her Stetson hat.

        “Well, Zektor already said earlier that apples themselves were a much needed resource, so why don’t we use one of the buckets… as bait.” I suggested, catching everyone’s attention. “If we bait one of them into a trap, then we can use the changeling we captured for interrogation so we can pull information out of him. Once we have the info, we can proceed. But we need to work as a team if we’re going to pull this off.” 

        “That could work…” Crystal said slowly, nodding to think it over. “How are we going to bait them if we don’t even know what tunnels the scouts use in the first place?” She asked, dragging her finger between a couple of different x’s. “I’ll assume that all these tunnels connect to one another some point. How will we know which ones are abandoned, and which ones are still functioning?”

        I smirked a little, looking back at Applejack and remembering something. “Remember when I told you of that Displaced Derpy? Well, during one part of the meeting, AJ slammed Genos into a cliffside nearby. Given the impact and the fact that it happened recently, my guess is that it might have caused the ground to shake enough to the point where anything hiding an entrance would… slip out of place.”

        “So you want AJ to hit something hard enough to cause a tremor that will uncover hidden tunnel entrances?” Crystal guessed, looking at AJ with an impressed look. “What will she hit though? The ground?”

        “No, I’m saying that it’s possible that the entrance is already exposed. The impact was strong enough compared to a magnitude 5 quake.”

        “The impact site was at Sweet Apple Acres, right?” Crystal asked, her mouth open slightly from the force of impact Applejack had used. I nodded my head in response as I looked back at Applejack, who also gave a confirming nod. 

        “We should use the daylight right now to assess the impact and form a plan. Given who we might be dealing with, they might operate under the cover of night so we’ll need to use whatever time we got left right now to get ready.”

        “It’s a start.” Crystal commented, giving a shrug and looked over the map, trying to spot any other familiar places then a thought occurred to her. “What are we going to get ready with?” She asked us, looking up from the map with confusion in her eyes.

        That was when Applejack herself chimed in. “Ah got some stuff in the barn we can use. The rest just involves us improvising.”

        “Improvisation I can definitely do. What sort of stuff is in the barn?” Crystal wondered as she stood up from the map, stretched and took a look at the archives near us.

        “Well before ah met Ken, mah family and I had to deal with a varmint called the Sass-squash during the winter harvest. If ah remember correctly, we still have the makeshift cage and Big Mac’s net.” She replied back.

        “You have a sasquatch cage in your barn?” Crystal asked incredulously, looking away from the archives and turning her attention back to Applejack. “Why was there even a sasquatch in the first place?”

        I just facepalmed as I followed the two of them. “I think we’re getting off topic. The point here is that we have the proper equipment needed to carry out this plan. Now all we need to do is get ready.”

        “We got the sasquatch cage, what else do we need?” Crystal asked curiously. That was when I thought for a minute before looking back at her with a simple grin.

        “A place to put it and a trap to prepare.” I said, summoning my newfound bow. “Plan B would be target practice, but that’s if plan B is needed.”

        “Would target practice involve the changeling scouts if Plan A fails?” Crystal asked me, an almost-predatory grin on her face. “I may like changelings but as far as I’m aware, the changelings in this world are too far gone to want peace.”

        “We’ll see about that. Plus, Plan B is to slow them down so AJ can use her lasso to tie them up.” I explained to Crystal while dismissing my bow. “The New magic I’ve been practicing with allows my arrows to chase after targets that try to run. One shot in the foreleg can render their chances of escape. Not only that, but the fact that they might get hurt can play out with interrogating them.”

        “Oh? How so, sugarcube?” Applejack then asked me just as we made it to the mirror that lead to Ponyville.

        “We can propose a deal to them that if they tell us what we want to know, we can make the pain stop. If they refuse, the pain will continue to linger until they comply.” I said to them. “Onepony can only handle so much torment for so long until they break. And that could apply in a variety of different factors.” With it, we stepped through the mirror to find ourselves in the center of Twilight’s castle as the walls around us glowed a little with the light of the sun.

        “That sounds like a cool weapon to have,” Crystal told me before she noticed our surroundings. “What place is this?” She asked as she spun slowly on the spot.

        “Uhh… Twilight’s Castle?”

        “I’ve never been here so how would I know if Twilight would have a castle or not?” Crystal asked in protest.

        “... Does your Twilight have wings?”

        “She gets wings?” Crystal retorted.

        “...... Okay, I’m going to assume that Twilight in your world is not an alicorn yet is she? Because ah reckon that she ascended to that about two years ago… Geez, saying that just makes me think Gregar all over again.” Applejack sighed, looking back at me.

        “Yeah, no kidding.” I chuckled, looking back at Crystal. “Gregar was a Displaced that showed up in the badlands about a month ago. After talking with him, we found out that he just defeated Sombra, something Applejack said they did already. He’s a nice kid… even thought of me as a brother.”

        “Starlight managed to summon me just after we went and tried to get the Crystal Empire to be the next host city for the Equestria Games. Not sure how close that is to Twilight getting wings though,” Crystal explained after hearing a little bit of who Gregar was. “We’re in Twilight’s castle so where to next?”

        “Sweet Apple Acres,” Applejack said as she began to trot out in front with a spring in her step, leading the way. It took about ten minutes to get there, but upon arrival, I turned to look back at Crystal and noticed something.

        “Hey Applejack… Since when did Applebloom and her friends get their cutie marks?”

        “Wait wha-?”

        Crystal turned to see where I was looking and found three fillies running up to us. “How did they get their cutie marks?” Crystal asked as she crouched down.

        “Something tells me that it’ll be a long story.”

        “Their cutie marks match … except for the symbol. I don’t think that’s happened before,” Crystal remarked, taking a quick glance at all three cutie marks.

        “Maybe all three of them did something collectively?”

        “Maybe. Hello you three. My name’s Crystal and I’m a friend of Applejack’s and Ken’s. Can you tell us how got your cutie marks?” Crystal asked the three fillies as they got closer after introducing herself to them. All three fillies were not so comfortable with Crystal at first, but after Applejack nodded her head and told them that Crystal was a friend, they spilled the beans on everything… And when I mean everything… I mean EVERYTHING. Something having to deal with some “Diamond Tiara” filly or something like that. 

        I honestly couldn’t keep track with what they were saying due to the constant interruptions by all three of them and how everything was described. It was like trying to understand The Matrix when you were watching it for the first time.

        “That’s an interesting way to get a cutie mark, especially for all three of you,” Crystal commented after they were finished, sounding like she understood them perfectly despite all their interruptions. 

        “What did ah tell ya, sis. Be patient and one day, it’ll come.” Applejack said, hugging her sister. “I’m so proud of ya’ll.”

        “Thanks sis!” Applebloom cheered, before darting off with the rest of her friends. Now that everything was cleared up, it was time to begin preparations for our little “bug hunt”.

        “That was sweet, but, if I were an entrance to a secret tunnel network, where would I be?” Crystal thought out loud and she turned on the spot.

        “Well… three ideas come to mind… either in the hillside, somewhere in the orchard or…” Turning to Applejack, I then asked her something. “Hey Applejack, does the barn have a basement?”

        “Yeah, but we only use it if we have too many apples picked from the harvest.” Applejack said back to me. That gave me a thought as I scratched my chin. 

        “I’ll go check inside the house. Can you two check around the orchard?” I asked them. I wanted to inspect how the basement was because, if I was a smart changeling and used a tunneling system, I would hide out from under their noses and use a disguise to make it look like I was Applebloom or another one of the Apple Family in order to cover my tracks. “I want to make sure that we don’t need to fumigate the place if we do find traces of bugs.” The last part was supposed to be a joke, but I’m not sure if Crystal actually liked it. So I then apologized and walked towards the barn.

        “Don’t make bug jokes if the jokes involve them getting killed,” Crystal sighed quietly before following me. “You think there’s an entrance in the basement?”

        “It’s a theory, but it’s something I want to check.” I told her, explaining my theory to her as we walked over.

        “It’s a good place to start, at any rate. I don’t think the basement would be a good place if multiple changelings are meant to leave the tunnel at once, though,” Crystal replied.

        “What if there was more than one?” I said back as we walked inside and soon found the door to the basement downstairs as I opened it and walked down the staircase to turn on the lightswitch.

        “There probably is but if there’s too many, then the ground would be viable to collapse because it's been hollowed out so much,” Crystal reasoned and noticing how dark it was, provided some light with her flames until I found the light switch.

        “True… But it all depends,” I replied. “They could split off one big tunnel into several smaller ones to have them come from the floor or the walls. They probably took the collapse part into account and found a way to work around it.”

        “That’s if there’s a tunnel in the basement in the first place,” Crystal told me skeptically as she began to inspect the basement. While she was inspecting around the walls, I looked in places where it might be more likely in order to hide something. There was the rug in the center of the room. The Barrels. The cabinet that contained all the supplies needed for peeling apples by one of the supports for the house.

        But something with the cabinet seemed… off. Like it was falling backwards or something. “Hey Crystal, come look over here.” Crystal looked where I was and found the cabinet. She walked over to it and tilted it to the way it was supposed to be.

        “There’s something here,” Crystal murmured before grabbing the side of it and doing her best to pull it away from the wall. “I think there’s an entrance here. Help me move this?” I nodded, helping her slowly push it aside as we moved it out of the way. In doing so, we found exactly what we were looking for.

        I whistled a little, looking at how huge and deep the tunnel could go. “Jackpot.”

        “This is a tunnel,” Crystal said with a grin as she crouched beside it. “It looks like it goes on forever but because it’s so dark, there’s no way of knowing how far or how deep it goes.”

        “Changelings must be using torches or illumination spells in order to provide some light to see. Also, this place was kind of where I expected for the tunnel. AJ stores a lot of the extra stock and apples from Applebucking down here. If they needed apples for their Elixirs, then this is an ideal place to find them without all the trouble.”

        “That’s true. Just be glad I’m able to create my own flames. There’s probably more entrances like you said.”

        “Right.” I replied, “Let’s put this back and check on Applejack before we can plan out how to capture one that doesn’t require a butterfly net.” Crystal nodded and walked over to the cabinet before pushing it slowly back over the hole. Once we had everything back the way it was, we both walked back upstairs and out onto the orchard to where Applejack was.

        “Any luck AJ?” I asked her, only for the Earth pony to turn back around with a certain expression on her face.

        “I got some good news and bad news.”

        “Let’s have the good news first then,” Crystal said as she crossed her arms.

        “Well the good news is ah found the tunnel that was linked within the mountains and Ken was right about having it exposed because of Genos,” The farmpony said. “The bad news is though that those changelings made sure to close off the tunnel before anypony else could notice. Went as far as to cave in the entire tunnel, I can smell residue of dynamite inside. Probably stolen from Appleloosa I imagine.”

        “In that case, we got some news as well. We found an uncollapsed tunnel in the basement,” Crystal responded as her eyes widened at the news. “They really used dynamite to collapse the tunnel?”

        “I can smell the gunpowder. Probably did it this way so they make it impossible for Magic users to remove all the rubble.”

        “That’s a fair tactic. Did you find any other tunnels out here?”

        “As far as ah can tell, no.” The earth pony said. “Guess that means our only chance to find a changeling is to camp out in the basement… Which reminds me… Do we actually have a plan of what we’re gonna do?”

        “I think our plan extended as far as finding a tunnel and then hoped for the best,” Crystal said uncertainly. That was when I had an idea.

        “Applejack, do you have a spare barrel with apples… I think it’s time we lure them out with some bait.”

        “Weren’t there barrels in the basement?” Crystal wondered.

        “Empty ones.” I clarified. “We can use the apples to draw them out before sealing off any escape routes. After that, we can capture and interrogate for information. Sounds easy right?”

        “Most plans sound better on paper,” Crystal muttered. “But it’s the start of a plan. We don’t know how often they come up for apples, do we?”

        “True… But from what Zektor said, sometimes they make these runs two to three times a week… and one of the days that’s mostly done for them is the weekends. Such as today.” Yeah, given that it was Saturday, it was one of three days that the changelings in charge of food most often patrol. One was on Sundays during the start of the week, the second was Wednesdays for midweek and the last one was on Saturdays for the end of the week. Given the fact that the Hive sounded like a HUGE colony, it would possibly explain the consistent amount of trips. Like if it were a bee colony, the workers would have to take whatever pollen they could find in order to support their queen. The changelings in this instance was no exception.

        “So the plan is to camp out with a barrelful of apples and hope that they haven’t met their quota for today?” Crystal asked.

        “It’s a fifty/fifty chance. But it’s one I’m willing to take.” I told her.

        “Camping out it is. Is there an apple barrel that’s full in the barn?” Crystal asked Applejack after nodding her head in agreement. Applejack did and within a few minutes, a fresh barrel of apples was brought downstairs as Applejack easily popped the top off.

        “Here we go. One barrel of apples.”

        “Thanks, now we just need to wait,” Crystal sighed as she sat to the side of the tunnel entrance in order to hear if any changelings would be coming down the tunnel. I myself decided to hide behind a crate near the back as Applejack hid in the back corridor where the basement’s bathroom was. We sat there quietly and waited and about an hour later, we finally heard voices.

        “Well, looks like we’re in luck. A full barrel of apples…” One of them said, a male changeling drone. He seemed to be more of the proud self as he turned back to what was behind him. “What’s the hold up, Holly? We don’t have all day.”

        “S-sorry…” Another voice weakly said. But what I saw though… surprised me. This changeling mare looked almost exactly the same as Maple. Just with a different colored mane and more of a Fluttershy like personality.

        Crystal froze at the name and looked at the tunnel entrance out of the corner of her eye. She slid away from the entrance when the voices got closer and waited for them to appear. As they exited the tunnel, they turned around and examined the room. “Strange… normally I would have to move that before we could come out…”

        Sh*t, they were onto us. Signalling something to Applejack, she changed forms and slammed her hoof down to create a thick stone slab by the entrance they just came through while I closed and locked the door by the stairs. Summoning Hawkmoon in the process.

        “Got you…”

        Crystal slowly got up and carefully moved behind the changelings before encasing both ponies in a black crystal shell, only leaving their heads exposed.

        “Okay… Let me make this simple then… We know quite a bit about your little… operations within the tunnels,” I said, holding the map that I used to write down the entrances from Zektor’s copy earlier in the day. “So, I’m going to give you two options… Either you tell us about what’s going on and we’ll let you go… Or refuse… and I’ll let my friend Crystal here try to get you talking.” Crystal stayed behind the changelings and gave me a look of surprise.

        The first thing that we heard though is from the mare. “I-i’ll talk. J-just please don’t hurt me…” All that did though was cause the other one to be furious.

        “Traitor!! Damn it, Holly, you’re letting your feelings get in the way of your actions. Just like your damned sister-.”

        Wait a minute… Sister?

        “Do you want me to cover your head too?” Crystal asked the male changeling quietly when she visibly cringed at his outburst. She then walked around the duo to look at them both face-on. “Does the name Maple mean anything to you?” She asked them when she realised how similar Holly looked to Maple.

        The changeling’s eyes widened. “Y-you know my sister!? P-please… tell me that she’s safe!”

        “Maple’s your sister?” Crystal asked quietly before nodding her head at Holly. “Yeah, she’s safe. She’s in one of the safest places in Equestria,” she answered with a warm smile.

        “T-thank you… I-i would do anything to see her again.” She said… This got me thinking as I looked back at her.

        “Well…” I said, motioning to Crystal to cover the changelings mouth while I said the offer I was going to give to her. “If you can tell us more about the tunnels, I promise that I can let you see your sister again.”

        “What do you say to that?” Crystal asked her after having covered the male changeling’s head as well, leaving a few small holes for him to breathe.

        “Y-yes… I can tell you everything… Chrysalis forced me to work in the tunnels as punishment for my sister’s betrayal against the hive. I was the one who had to help dig the tunnels and work to the point of exhaustion… Treated like a slave…”

        “Is there anything else you can tell us?” Crystal asked gently, frowning a bit at hearing this.

        “A-all the tunnels are connected together to where the hive is located. It originally would take weeks for these expeditions to be done, but Chrysalis stole some spare traintracks and a few railcars in order to deliver goods from one point to another.”

        “Sounds a lot like how a coal mine would work in the early 1900’s.” I thought to myself as I pictured what she said inside my mind.

        “I got a sudden urge to sing ‘working on the railroad’ now. Chrysalis stole train tracks and railcars. There’s a tunnel network that all connects back to the hive. Is there anything else?” Crystal asked her, rubbing her eyes to quell her rage.

        “I-it’s more than to trade goods… She puts any traitors like myself or ponies that she captures in work camps. We’re barely fed and only a select few know about it. Anyone who tried to argue against it like my parents… would be sent there… to die.” She shed a few tears now as she looked back at the both of us. I patted my hand on her shoulder to help her feel comfortable while Applejack did the same thing with her hoof “All I have left are my uncle and my sister… please… I want to see them again so much…”

        Crystal exhaled and looked at the blocked tunnel entrance. “This world’s Chrysalis is beyond saving. There’s no way she’ll listen to reason now. You’ll see your uncle and sister soon. How far back does this tunnel go?” Crystal asked with an angered edge to her voice before shattering the crystal surrounding Holly, letting her go free.

        “A-all the way back to the w-work camp. T-there’s a second train that leads to the hive itself, but it’s well protected and the entrance to the city is encased in a special spell to keep other species out.”

        “Sounds like a reverse method of Shining Armors spell during the Canterlot wedding.” Applejack told us. “Just focused on keeping ponies and other species out instead of changelings… Is it underground though?”

        “M-mostly. You can still see it from the outside. It’s like a huge cocoon.”

        “Where would the cocoon be?” Crystal asked, leaning against the still-encased male changeling. “If you can see it from the outside then it’s gotta be somewhere that’s still covered to stop others from seeing it.”

        The other changeling said nothing, but instead, Holly spoke up. “It’s a couple miles northeast of Tartarus.”

        “Seriously? Does anyone here know where Tartarus is besides these two?” Crystal asked in disbelief.

        “W-what I mean is that they’re along the eastern side of Equestria. It’s by a mountain range in the area and embedded in the side of the rock to blend in.” Holly replied. “It stands out though at night.”

        “Because the changeling gel that is used to make the hive glows at night?” Crystal asked uncertainly. “At least it sounds easier to find than going northeast of Tartarus.”

        “Yeah because trying to find that is like trying to find the gates of hell.” I groaned sarcastically. “I’ll take Holly back to her sister with Applejack. Once we’re there, we can figure out what to do next.”

        “What about this one?” Crystal asked, patting the back of the changeling she was leaning on.

        “That… I was going to leave to you. You do have a bit of rage… so maybe you need something to take your rage out on?” I said, while Applejack nodded. She kept the stone barrier up to block off the tunnel before moving the cabinet back in place… and allowing for Crystal to crack her knuckles in anticipation.

        “Thanks. I really hate to punch a changeling but I hate it when ponies call others traitors even more so I’m going to make an exception for this,” Crystal said with a shrug and coated herself in iron scales. As we closed the door to the basement, we could hear loud piercing screams as the three of us waited on her. After about ten minutes, the screams could still be heard but it quickly rose and softened in pitch when the door to basement opened and closed quickly. Crystal looked at us and grinned.

        “I didn’t kill him if that’s what you’re wondering. Just broken limbs.” I sighed in relief at that. I would never expect restraint from someone like Crystal with the way she was speaking about Chrysalis… but then again, there are surprises.

        “Alright. Let’s go back. Holly deserves to see her sister again.” I said, smiling as I saw the scared look on her face change to one… of hope.



        It took a small bit of time in order for us to finally make it through Ponyville without everypony running for cover in fear of Holly, but soon we made it back safe and sound. When we returned, we were back by the front gate in the town below the temple as we soon saw Mystic. The Unicorn was surprised to see us back so quickly, but she was more surprised to see Holly… well… in a different sense.

        “Maple? Did you dye your mane while I was in Canterlot?” The question though got Holly to hide behind Crystal as I looked back towards the Unicorn.

        “Mystic, this isn’t Maple. This is another Changeling we met named Holly… Speaking of which, where is Maple and Zektor?”

        “They should be back at the center of the temple. They’ve been talking with that Starlight pony for a while now actually.” She replied. “She’s a nice mare to tell you the truth.”

        “They have? Maple and Zektor will get a nice surprise then,” Crystal said. Mystic nodded, letting us go off on our own back towards the Temple as we made our way up and over. Once at the temple entrance and with the doors open, we not only found those three, but it looked like Twilight had decided to pay a visit too. They seemed to be getting along quite well… That was… until the moment they saw our new companion. “Everyone, this is-.” Crystal said slowly as she gestured to the Changeling.

        Maple though was the first to react. “HOLLY!!!”

        “MAPLE!!!” The changeling cried as tears came out from both of their eyes. Zektor soon joined both of them as they had a group hug in the middle of the temple. I personally stepped off to the side to give them some space, while walking to the confused Alicorn. Crystal copied my actions and joined me.

        “Okay… just what is happening?” Twilight asked.

        “We found Holly while trying to find out more about the tunnels that lead to the changeling hive. She and Maple are sisters.”

        “We also found out about the hive and what Queen Chrysalis has been doing,” Crystal supplied in a slightly angered tone as she rubbed her eyes. Twilight looked a bit confused, so I had to be the one to fill her in… along with Holly once she was done reuniting with Maple and Zektor… and she was just as furious.

        “There is no way in Tartarus that I’m going to let her get away with something THAT cruel!!”

        “I’m glad it’s not just me. We can’t do anything about her hive though because it’s protected by a version of Shining Armor’s shield around Canterlot. It lets Changelings in while keeping others out.” Crystal informed the Alicorn with a smile.

        “If that’s the case, then our only chance of stopping the hive is to have somepony in on the inside…” She said, looking back at us before looking back at Crystal. “Hang on… why do I sense changeling magic around you?”

        “It’s either because I’m married to one, I got four half-changeling children or it’s some leftover magic from breaking the limbs of a changeling that called another one of his own a traitor,” Crystal said uncertainly. “Why do you ask?”

        “Hmm… Well, I was originally thinking that the only way in was to disable from the inside, but I don’t want to risk Holly or Maple getting hurt. Given what you said… Would it be possible that you’re up for lowering the shields?”

        “I’m definitely up for it, I’m just saying that I don’t think it’ll work because I don’t exactly look like a changeling,” Crystal answered, nodding her head at the question.

        “Don’t you have like some sort of illusion spell or something to fool them?” I asked her, remembering that she was a master of multiple kinds of magic. “If not, then we can do this at night, where it’s the most exposed. It’s said to be in a mountain range to the east.”

        “You mean the Appleloosan mountains?” She asked, only causing me to raise an eyebrow as I looked back at Crystal. Applejack soon got into the conversation and nodded her head to answer Twilight’s question. “I might have an idea then… But it requires two things.”

        “What things do you need for this idea of yours?” Crystal asked, scratching the side of her mouth.

        “First off, you’ll need to be inside to disable the barrier,” She said, drawing up a diagram on a spare scroll. “Second, we’ll need to borrow a few of Applejack’s barrels. I know a pony in here called Short Fuse that could create any kinds of explosives. Even ones used to look like Apples. So, the plan would be to put those explosives on whatever they use to haul them in. Once inside and the barrier is down, Ken will fire an arrow from his bow at each of the barrels at the different entrances in the city. When the explosives detonate, it should block off any chance for them to run out of the Hive and Crystal could then escape by any method she sees as necessary. Nopony will notice her in the mass panic.”

        I… was speechless… I couldn’t come up with anything like that if I was given all the time in the world. All it took for Twilight was five minutes.

        “That’s an extensive plan…” Crystal muttered.

        “Yes, but something tells me you’re not the kind of pony to put something important like this off now… would you?” Twilight questioned. “Unless you want to wait and put some more thought into it first for something a little simpler. You do seem a bit exhausted after your time at the orchard.”

        “I’ve handled a lot worse. I’m fine. I’m not putting this off for anything. I would try and talk to Chrysalis but she seems incapable of listening to reason at this point,” Crystal explained. “We destroy the hive’s many entrances but that would mean I either get trapped, or they get trapped and starve to death.”

        “What do you suggest we do then?” I asked her. “I know you want to stop Chrysalis, but there are others who will be on her side once we are in the hive. Not to mention that there seems to be no source of resistance against the queen or her drones.”

        “We could try and get the resistant changelings out of the hive before we blow it up but that may take too long. I really want to see if Chrysalis will listen but I know for a fact that it won’t work. She’s too cruel for it to work in this situation.”

        “Hmm…” I hummed to myself, trying to think of any sort of possibility. Then… I looked at Holly. Her expressions was happy but mixed with a bit of fear…… “I thought of something… Chrysalis seems to be eager to put fear in her victims… Why don’t we give her something to fear instead?”

        “Like what?” Crystal asked nervously. I smiled, letting the scales on my arm expand as I took up my Dragon armor form and looked back at her.

        “Like me… In this form, my power is increased significantly and I’m a lot more agile… Plus, since Shining’s spell shattered to consistent blows towards it, a hard enough force could cause the barrier to shatter.” I explain as I then reverted back to normal. “The first time will serve as a warning. Give her one day to change… However, if she doesn’t comply, there will be consequences… What do you think?”

        “I think I would like to help shatter the barrier but if what Twilight says about the changeling magic around me is true, then I’ll just go right through the barrier. It’s a good plan, nonetheless,” Crystal replied

        “Then let’s combine both…” I said, “You sneaking in to disable it… I’ll crash right into Chrysalis’ castle to warn her. Sorry if this means you need to stay an extra day, Crystal. But I promise that I’ll make it up to you.”

        “Don’t worry about the extra day. I’m getting used to it. If we combine both then how would me disabling the shield get her to comply in time if she even wants to comply?” Crystal asked.

        “Oh we’re not asking her to comply…” I knew that my thinking right now might be one sided, but thinking about the death and destruction that Chrysalis would leave behind if unchecked would be a severe problem. “We’re going to use a special element for this.”

        Both Twilight and Applejack looked at me when I said this. “Element?”

        “Yes… The element… of surprise.”



Later that night

        As the Night stars glowed above Revaan and I, we were watching the Hive down below. The changelings that called this place home really looked like ants down there from all the way up here as we waited on Crystal. We devised a plan to where she would signal us for when she was inside and the barrier was down so I could prepare to strike. Thanks to Zektor, we found out that the queen was in the back of the hive and in her own miniature castle in the back. My target was to crash either in the royal quarters where her room was or in the main hall, where she was likely to be. Now, we just needed to wait for the signal and be ready for anything. Of course, making sure we were hidden and able to see the signal was another thing. So we stuck to the clouds and I used a pair of binoculars that Aaron loaned to me so I can see from far distances.

        After about ten more minutes, I noticed that there was a reduced glow to the outer exterior of the hive. Along with a small red flare in the sky. “That’s my cue.” I said as Revaan glided over, allowing me to change forms as I dove down head first towards the castle. Preparing my dragon arm, I drew it back, only to throw a punch forward as I slammed through the roof and onto the stone floor below me. The impact caused a crater in the floor as I looked up to see the startled changeling guards and the queen that was knocked off of her throne.

        “What is the meaning of this!?” The startled queen called out while getting her hooves back under her.

        “Queen Chrysalis…” I spoke, adding depth to my tone. “You are to pay for the crimes you committed against your people and all the lives you have stolen. Your acts against your own kind will not go unpunished.”

        “I didn’t think the element of surprise would work that well.” Crystal said happily while she walked into the throne room.

        “I had a feeling,” I whispered to her, before looking back at the queen. “Feel free to speak if you want… Put her in her place.”

        “You think I would let you get away with storming into my home and then take orders from a pair of mongrels!?! GUARDS!!! KILL THEM!!!” She ordered, her drones being hesitant, but then charged at us from all angles. A perfect opportunity for Crystal. Crystal looked at the Changelings and covered herself in an armor of black crystal before proceeding to do the same to each Changeling that touched her. When they were covered with their heads still exposed the stayed on the floor, completely immobile.

        “I don’t like fighting Changelings but this Chrysalis is so making me want to,” Crystal growled. “What are you going to do Chrysalis? Send more Changelings? I’ll just cover them in crystal like I did to all these!” The response though caught me by surprised as Chrysalis herself blasted a powerful beam of magic that went right through her.

        “Crystal!!” I shouted, turning towards Chrysalis as I rushed forward and slammed the queen into the back wall. “Now you’ve done it…” Growling, my right arm tightening on her throat as I tried to control my anger towards her. Crystal was slammed into the wall at the other end of the room by the powerful beam of magic, her armor standing no chance against it. She fell to the floor from where she was pinned by the beam and ended up in a crumpled heap. I disrupted the beam, throwing the queen onto the floor with enough force to knock her out as my priorities in that moment changed.

        “Crystal, please be okay… Don’t die on me…” I said to myself, checking to see if I could feel a pulse and tend to her injuries. However, I was surprised when I felt her hand move along my arm as I looked back at her.

        “Remember what I said earlier? I’ve been hit by way worse.” Crystal replied with a grin. With that, I held her close in a hug, relieved that she had not been severely hurt or worse. All the guards were crystallized and the queen was unconscious as I looked back at her.

        “Thank the ancestors you’re okay… Is there anything else we should do before we go back?” I asked her.

        “Thankfully, Chrysalis isn’t dead. I can hear her soft breathing from here. Other than blow up the tunnels, I don’t think there’s anything else we need to do… did we get the resistant changelings out already?” Crystal replied, returning my hug and sitting up to rest her back against the wall.

        “Thankfully, Holly and Maple helped with getting the changelings out and Zektor took a few fighters that he knew to help set the charges. We can detonate them once we’re out of the hive.” I explained to her, trying to help her up. “Should I carry you or can you walk?”

        “I can walk, it’s just my entire body that hurts from the impact,” Crystal told me as she used the wall to balance herself as she stood back up.

        “Hang on, I can have Revaan pick us up so it won’t be that hard for you.” I told her, having my right arm glow a little as Revaan flew overhead. Using my dragon arm’s capabilities, I fired out the energy hookshot as I looked at Crystal. “Better hang on.” Seconds later, we were airborne as I gently set her on Revaan and watched as the charges in the distances set off balls of fire in the night sky.

        “Thanks, Ken. I would like to know what spell she hit me with though because it seems to be getting more painful to move by the second,” Crystal said, watching the balls of fire with grim satisfaction.

        “More painful? Maybe it was a paralysis spell that was meant to break through shields and armor.” I said, thinking that through. “In any case… Revaan, when we get back, set us in my room so I can patch up Crystal.”

        “You got it,” He replied, sweeping around as he soon arrived back in the temple after a couple of moments in flight. “One stop to your room as requested. Now, I’m going to leave you two be as I rest my wings.” Crystal slid off Revaan’s back and stumbled while I rushed to help guide her to the bed while she groaned in pain.

        “It feels like my body is on fire and not in a good way.” she reported quickly. I nodded, taking a soul shard inside the drawer of my nightstand and cracking it open. Letting the magic seep into the wound and help her heal her wounds and cure her of any ailments that Chrysalis might have hit her with. 

        “Did that work?” I asked her.

        “Pain’s going away if that’s what you mean,” Crystal replied, breathing slowly as she felt the magic help.

        “Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked her, seeing if I needed to do anything else. But what I heard her say next though… surprised me.

        “There is, actually. Can you…… stay with me please?” Thinking about it for a minute, I soon sighed a little, smiling a bit as I gave her my answer.

        “Sure.”



Next Morning

        When I slowly began to open my eyes the next morning, I almost expected for Applejack or somepony else to be the one to wake me up. As I turned around though, I soon remember my guest from the other night as she woke up seconds after me. “How did you sleep?”

        “I slept well, considering I only got a few hours sleep,” Crystal replied as she turned on the bed to look at me.

        “Oh? Was something keeping you awake at night?”

        “Just some thoughts that Revaan helped me get through,” Crystal replied with a shrug. “It’s not a big deal anymore but since we’re up, we may as well see if the others are up as well.”

        “I can take care of that,” I insisted to her, “Maybe I should make sure to get you home first. I wouldn’t want to keep anyone you know waiting right?”

        “Right. That would be a big help except, Starlight is the one that summoned me so I’m not sure if you can send me home,” Crystal replied, sitting up and getting out of bed.

        “True, but maybe I can still send you back if I had your token.” I explained to her. “Starlight’s not a displaced. I am… Besides, I think you would be happy to get some extra rest in your own world, am I right?”

        “You’re right, but, if that’s possible, can you send me home after we spar? I didn’t really get a chance to see what you were like in battle yesterday,” Crystal said slowly, looking like she had to think of her words before she said them.

        “We can. Though, a lot of my abilities are really strong in power and can take a toll if I drain too much energy. I save those for when the situation calls for it,” I told her, having her follow me to the training grounds. “Is there anything specific that you want to know? My dragon armor you saw the other day was a transformation ability I have.” Around then, I had my dragon arm glow briefly after I asked my question.

        “I figured it would come out in the battle but, any other transformation ability you have would be nice to know. With your stronger powers, maybe you shouldn’t use them if I have any chance of going back home this week,” Crystal said with a small laugh.

        “Sure. Well, to start… Let’s start with the arm.” I smirked, charging some of my energy as I lashed out at her with a line of energy. She dodged to the right, but I just smiled and used it to pull myself to where she once was before trying a low sweeping kick. She dodged the kick and fired off a few dozen crystal shards at me before following it up with a fireball. Moving to the right to dodge the fireball, I used my arm again to snatch the crystal shards and throw them back at her. “So… can you tell what I can do with the arm now?”

        “Sure can. You can use it to redirect items and grab things from far away,” Crystal answered as she let the crystal shards break upon hitting her and gathered some fire in her hands. “Is there anything else?” She asked as she combined both fireballs to unleash a bigger fireball at me.

        “That’s… where you're wrong.” I sighed, using my arm again to this time grab Crystal and yank her towards me. “Think of this as a Grapple tether… Depending on the mass of an object and how heavy, I can either pull myself to a certain location… or pull something to me. Think of it like Scorpion’s “get over here!” in Mortal Kombat, but made out of my energy. Or better yet… Nero’s arm in Devil May Cry 4.”

        “In that case…” Crystal trailed off before punching me in the face as she got close and sending me moving backwards a few feet. “I don’t think they’re able to do that in Mortal Kombat or DMC 4.”

        “I was just saying an example,” I smirked, thinking a bit to myself before deciding to take it up a notch. “Now, this you might remember from yesterday.” That’s when I dashed towards her with speed in my step as I caught her by surprise. “Only one of many for my… other set of abilities.”

        Crystal stepped back in surprise and gasped at the speed I used. “That’s a big set of abilities then,” she remarked as she waited to see what I would do next.

        “Oh trust me… I’m only going to use a few.” I assured her, seconds before forming a blade of energy in my hand and using it to cast a radial blind around the area. Preventing her from seeing me appear behind her as I prepared myself a weapon.

        I am the bone of my sword. As my weapon took form and the blade solidified, I swung at her around the shoulder level. She must have heard the whistling of the sword because the next moment, she had ducked and made a sweeping kick at my legs.

        “Enhanced hearing, remember?” Crystal asked with a smirk. I grinned a little, taking my sword and stabbing it into the ground as the energy I pooled into my next attack emerged from the ground as several spears created from my energy got her in the legs. Crystal hissed in pain as she stood still, pinned in place and she breathed fire at me. I dodge rolled to my right as I released her from the spears and went over to her.

        “You okay? I didn’t go overboard now did I?”

        “Of course I’m fine. I just didn’t expect that many spears to get stuck in my legs,” Crystal replied with a grin from her kneeling position. Dismissing my blade and calming down and offering a hand to help her back up to her feet.

        “I think that should be good for now… I still want to make sure I have some energy to send you back home.” I told her while helping her stand straight.

        “Fair enough,” Crystal replied and gave me a grin. “We just need to find Starlight and see if she still has my token.”

        “Can’t you summon your token? I mean, I can make more than one of mine from the original.”

        “I can’t. I never figured out how and I never really bothered to because I usually wrap it around my neck after I get summoned,” Crystal explained. That just got me thinking a minute and told her to wait there for a moment as I quickly went through the door to Twilight’s castle. She and the girls weren’t home, but I did see a scarf that was white and a note from Starlight. Thinking that this was it, I went back and handed her the note and the scarf.

        “Would this happen to be it?”

        “Yeah, that’s my token. What’s the note for?” Crystal asked before wrapping her scarf around her neck and over the top of Connor’s necklace.

        “Looks like it’s a note to me or you if you came looking for it. Just saying where they were and stuff like that.” I said, showing her the brief note. “Otherwise, it just says that it might be a bit before they return from the Crystal Empire.”

        “Is that all? I thought it would have been something different. Are you going to send me back then?” Crystal wondered.

        “Sure, I can use your token to do so,” I told her, handing the scale I had as a token. “Speaking of which, that way I don’t forget, here’s mine.” Crystal unwrapped her scarf again and traded tokens with me.

        “This is a dragon scale. From Revaan?” Crystal guessed when she examined it.

        “Actually, Zinnia found it when we explored the temple for the first time,” I told her, wrapping the scarf around my neck as I look back at her. “This feels quite comfortable. How do I look?”

        “So you made a token out of a random scale?” Crystal asked in disbelief before turning away from her inspection and over to me to have a good look. “Actually, you don't look that bad with it on,” she said in an approving tone.

        “Why thank you. I’ll be sure to treasure it.” I said, wrapping some of the cloth around my fingers as I began to channel the necessary energy needed for her to be able to be sent back to her home world. “Have a safe trip, Crystal!” With that, we both said our goodbyes to each other as I let her go back to her own world. 

“One last thing. I may be too far to hear them, but I can’t hear Magma and Ruby. Maybe you should check into that,” Crystal replied before stepping through the pillar of fire and disappeared. Now I thought might be the best chance to check on Pinkis’ condition and possibly show her the newborns… If I could find them that is.




Point of View: Applejack




        It had only been a couple of hours since mah friends and ah left the station in Ponyville to the Crystal Empire and everything for the most part was turning out alright. Starlight took one step ahead in helping out Ken by leaving behind the token of that Crystal fella’ back at the castle so if he stopped by, he could help send her back home. It might’ve been only a few days since Starlight had decided to be reformed, but the girls and ah could definitely tell the difference in her behavior.

        Partway through the trip though, I began to smell something… Funny. “Girls, what smells like burning leather?” They all looked at me, thinking ah was acting funny or something. But what they did seem to notice (and what I felt at the time on my head) was the movement underneath my hat. Even when ah turned towards Rainbow at that moment, she gave me a glance almost like if a spider dropped down near Rarity.

        “AJ… Don’t move a muscle…” That was when I looked up and saw the one thing ah was not expecting. Magma and Ruby were on my head, hiding under my stetson hat.

        “S’okay, Rainbow…”

        “Okay? Applejack, for all we know, the kids of some dragon could’ve snuck into your saddlebag-.” That was when ah shook my head, interrupting her with a hoof on her mouth and providing myself a chance to speak.

        “Ah haven’t told ya this yet, but Ken and ah… we’re finally a family,” I said. “I would like ya to meet my son and daughter… Magma and Ruby.” Almost right away, except for Starlight… Everyone of mah friends had only one way to react to this.

        They fainted.




End Chapter 17