What Does a Hero Truly Need? Vol. 2: A Dire Need of Heroes

What does a Hero Truly Need? Vol. 2

                                                                Original Idea and Story By: Zelkova48

                                                                         Current Story By: Deverer

                                                                         Chapter 3: The Sand King

Crixalis' eyes shot open upon the realization that he wasn't on any sort of ground anymore. His eyes were immediately met with the plane that he was just on, now approaching him at a ludicrous speed. He flinched as a lone cloud swept past him, but immediately jerked the opposite direction to keep his form stable.

I've always mentioned to Lyralei that the wind deserves to carry sand more than anything else, but this definitely qualifies as one of the time that passes the point of ridiculousness. That attack should have killed us all, yet here I fly down seemingly to my death, a death perhaps that will not have the net of the ancient to bring me back.

Down below in Crixalis' immediate vision, the ground's colors were of a gradient. From the center appeared a gray path, while turning into various greens as the distance from that path became greater. Each second that passed served as a reminder that an end was upon Crixalis, and his grave would be wherever the mercy of the wind would place him.

Yet Crixalis emphasizes the nature of survival through tactical thinking. For while sand sits and waits, it always fulfills a purpose, whether or not an action interacts with it. To be blown away, or to give structure to a land, each grain will always do something while not doing anything. Yet the Scintillant Waste has learned that sitting by is not always the best option, and in this case, he can definitely not afford to do nothing.

Crixalis closed his eyes, and he began to chant outward, a chant that many of his heroes are familiar with. Crixalis before has been subjugated to tornadoes, magics that make the ground work against him, even the barbaric act of being thrown. This time, the difference is he has exponentially more time to assess the situation.

Applejack looked to the skies of Equestria, her eyes squinted, and her moving stance stable. Her focus was set on the barely visible specks of light in the sky, light that conflicted with the barely afternoon sun. A harness was set around herself, the harness connected to a wagon full of filled bins of apples. On all sides of her sat her family's pride trees, only her immediate front and back has no lines of trees, just a beaten path through the orchid.

Her gaze seemed to only narrow more and more with each passing second, while her eyes didn't move themselves, the sight they projected only seemed to intensify. Each step she took looked automated, no variance in distance, and each stride looked like the last. The lights in the sky slowly made their way across and downward, whether time was slowed or not, Applejack watched in awe at their momentum.

Can you imagine falling from a height so high up, that it makes Cloudsdale pegasi cringe in fear? Falling through the air for literally minutes on end?

“Applejack!” a voice called. The orange mare shattered her stone gaze upon hearing her name. She refocused that very same gaze to the source of the call. In the distance, a blur of yellow topped with specks of red and pink was approaching her.

“Applebloom, what in Celestia's name are you doing out here?” Applejack called outward.

“The hole in the sky!” the younger sibling called back. “It's come back! Ah wanna head to Ponyville to-”

“Not even for a whole field of trees that can grow during the winter, Applebloom,” Applejack interrupted, also stopping her pace as she arrived right in front of her sister.

“But-”

“Now is not the time for arguing, you got that? The last time this happened, so many dangerous things happened soon after. We're lucky that huge bolt didn't come anywhere close to us, and that quake when that hole first appeared knocked over a good amount of apples in the southern field.” She tilted her head downward, her eyes closed. “Ah need you to stay here with Big Mac and Granny, Ah just know Twilight and the others are probably coming to fetch me.”

“It could be Rhasta though, Applejack!” she pleaded back. “Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and I had so much fun with him!”

“We don't even know where they've been for the past few months, we don't even know if anyone is coming through this time. If anyone has come through, we don't know if they're going to be friendly. Heck, it could be Rhasta again, but who knows iffin' he'll be the same?”

“But Ah can see lights in the sky! It has to be somepony up there!” Applejack raised her head back up  and met her sister's gaze as Applebloom finished her statement, a small smile now present on her own face.

“Dang, Applebloom, maybe yer mark's in farsight. Wait, that may not be the right word...” She shook her head. “Listen, come with me back to the house, Big Mac will probably want you to help him collect the fallen apples before they get soil spoiled.”

“Alright...” the filly conceded, her ears falling against her head.

“Oh, and Applebloom? What did Ah say about using 'somepony?'” Applejack asked, a small scowl and smile being presented. Applebloom sighed, and rolled her eyes before speaking.

“That Ah shouldn't always assume that it will be ponies Ah'm referring to, and that it could be anyone,” she replied, annoyed. “Ah should only use 'somepony' or any other kind of variation of that if Ah know Ah'm referring to a pony.”

“Darn, tootin'. Now come on, Ah gotta get myself ready.” Applebloom stepped to the side of Applejack, and they both began to walk together.

“Applejack?” The older sibling looked to her sister.

“Hmm?”

“Is... that light coming to us?” the younger sibling asked, pointing a hoof up to the sky. Applejack's eyes flared out and ears shot upward. She snapped her gaze back to the sky and saw one of the lights in the sky significantly larger in size. Applejack immediately threw one of fore-legs outward and pulled Applebloom toward herself. She pushed the filly down onto the ground and threw herself over her. Applejack looked to the sky again, and saw the light suddenly move past her diagonally across the horizon in the sky.

It was the equivalent of a comet of pure white that seemed to carry a trail of warm fire. Applejack watched it sail well past Sweet Apple Acres, past the south fields and out of her sight. A few seconds of heavy breathing from Applejack and small whimpers from Applebloom passed by, before a small tremor was felt in the earth.

Applejack dropped her head downward, resting it against Applebloom's body, and hugged the filly with her fore-legs. Applebloom looked into her sister's eyes with her own tear filled ones, and hugged her back with one of her own fore-legs. Both sisters turned their heads to where the 'comet' flew, and each one established a new gaze to the sight.

Crixalis continued to hum his chant outward, and sand was flying and orbiting around his body. He opened his eyes and watched as the sand around him began to gather around his body.

“The sand is my life blood, it is also my armor, it will be my savior as well,” he said aloud. “A fissure... it seems coincidental, or perhaps ironic that I'm going to be landing... near it. A crack in space and light brought me here, and a crack in this earth wants to be my grave, but I will not allow it. Let the air that plans to kill me, behold my mastery of its opposite element.”

He began to hum his chant again, and more sand began to emit from his form, The sand surrounded him in a casing of sorts, leaving his whole being concealed and covered like a dune in a storm. Crixalis' eyes narrows as the individual pebbles down below became boulders, and the flakes of green became trees. His gaze straighten to one side of the crack in the earth below him.

A second before he hit the ground, he shot two limbs forward, and burrowed directly into the ground. The sand in front of Crixalis was swept away as the rock of the earth bombarded him. He grunted outward  as he willed himself forward through the matter.

Suddenly, the rock surrounding him disappeared, and he found himself in a free fall again. Crixalis' eyes shot open as a stalactite flew by his head, and he found his body now tumbling through the air. Crixalis' gaze found itself in the opposite direction of his momentum as his whole body collided with solid matter once again. His gaze when then blackened as he rolled down the offending structure of earth, and slid along a new found floor.

He breathed inward and then outward, his eyes refusing to open. All around him, he felt echos in the earth, and ringing in his hearing. The blackness of his eyes soon spread to his hearing, to his touch, and then finally to his thoughts.

Twilight and Pinkie looked upon the property of Sweet Apple Acres in the distance, Twilight herself kept her gaze on the sky, while Pinkie bounced along with her eyes straight. Twilight would once in a while divert her gaze downward and update her frontal peripheral perception, before looking back up to the sky.

“So... Twilight!” Pinkie asked aloud. “You've been pretty quiet this whole time! Is there something rattling your head like Pound's own rattler?” Twilight turned her head to Pinkie, and gave a small sigh before speaking.

“It's... complicated, Pinkie. I'm excited, but not in the 'anticipating something you want' way, not even in the 'surprise' way. I'm just... excited,” she answered.

“'Just' excited? I don't think anyone can be 'just' excited!” Pinkie said back. “I mean, you have to be one way or the other, right? Or maybe even both! Or perhaps some ways that we can't think off the top of our heads and-”

“I'm well aware of that, Pinkie,” Twilight interrupted quietly, turning her head forward and hanging her head slightly. “It's just... say I'm so many different ways of excited, that they all cancel each other out. I want to make sure that everything goes right this time, you weren't there when Applejack, Rainbow, and I made a really big mistake that involved making an assumption.” She looked back to Pinkie, a small smile present. “I think you're well aware of not assuming,” Twilight joked.

“Don't assume or accuse without just cause or evidence! Or you make the accused uncomfortable, and/or you look kooky!” Pinkie replied back, a wide, toothy smile appearing with it.

“Well, you know we did assume off of evidence, but then... stronger evidence was brought against us.” Twilight looked back forward again, her eyes off center and her head tilted. “That was the start of something, huh?” she asked aloud.

“Mmmhmm!” Pinkie agreed. Both mares went silent afterword, and soon each one went back to their previous routine. Pinkie's head would occasionally turn to observe the environment on the ground, and each step and hop brought them closer to their friend's property. Twilight soon found her vision locked on completely, her eyes narrowing with each passing moment.

In the sky, four tiny lights were present. One of them was diverged away from the other three, the single one off to the left of their center point, and the others on the opposite side. Twilight looked to single one, then toward Canterlot Castle, and then back to the three that were relatively closer to each other. She stopped her trot and turned her whole body toward the sight. Pinkie stopped her own forward progress and turned to face Twilight, and then followed Twilight's line of sight upward.

Both of them widened their eyes as they looked back and forth between Canterlot and the cluster of lights. Twilight herself began to breath heavily, her fore-legs began to buckle, and sweat began to drop. Pinkie herself had her hoof to her mouth, she looked over to Twilight to a split second, before locking her eyes on one specific light in the trio cluster.

A light that was heading for Canterlot.

Both began to emit their own noises with their new actions; Pinkie was chewing her hoof, and Twilight began to whimper and stutter at the sight. Both of them quickened their pace as the light neared the city.

As the light itself passed over the base of the mountain, both mares stopped suddenly as a golden light flashed emerged, and a translucent shield of magic of the same color appeared around the whole city. Both of them looked to each other again, and each one held their breath and watched as the light in the sky connected with the shield.

A moment of silent passed.

Both of them dropped their jaws suddenly as the barrier then shattered, starting from the impact point and spreading all around. The barrier crumbled and faded away as the light continued downward into the city, and toward the high tower of Canterlot castle.

Twilight herself looked away, her eyes shut, and teeth clenched. She whimpered some more as time went on.

“Uh... what happened?” Pinkie asked aloud. “Nothing... happened?” Twilight slowly forced her eyes open, along with forcing herself to look back up to the city.  As she looked upward again, her jaw dropped in both awe and confusion as Canterlot was exactly the same as she last saw it. None of the visible structures were gone, and no additions to those very buildings had been made.

“What...” Twilight whispered. “How can- it has to be a hero,” Twilight declared, as she stood back up fully. “It could be possible the princesses intercepted it, but if it was able to break through Celestia's barrier...” Twilight put her a fore-hoof to her head, grimacing in thought. “It was able to both break through, and supposedly stop itself from causing damage to the city...” She shook her head, and dropped her fore-hoof back onto the ground. “Pinkie, we should pick up the pace and get to Applejack, I want to get a full understanding of the situation.”

“But if we know they're heroes, Twilight, doesn't that mean they can take care of themselves?” Pinkie asked back. “I mean, wouldn't we want to take it easy and wait for-” Pinkie stopped suddenly, and looked down to the ground.

“Pinkie?”

“Did... did you feel that just now?” Pinkie looked back up to Twilight. “I think I felt a shudder in the ground...”

“What?”

“It was... really, really, really, reeeeally faint. But I know I felt it... it felt like it came from-” she stopped, and her eyes widened. “Sweet Apple Acres!” Pinkie then turned and ran off. Twilight followed Pinkie with her eyes, and then looked up to the sky.

“They're all gone... oh no!” Twilight flared her magic, and then disappeared in a flash.

Applejack and Applebloom both walked away from the cart filled with apples, which now resided in one of their secondary barns. The mare and filly remained silent, with the elder looking over toward the southern portion of the property, while the younger hung her head and ears.

Both of them walked to the front door of the main barn that also doubled as their home, they looked to each other for a moment, Applejack giving a small nod while Applebloom stepped into the building. Applejack let out a small sigh and turned herself around and began to walk out of the area. She nearly stopped her pace as she found two blurs in the distance approaching rapidly, one pink and one purple. Applejack herself accelerated into a small run to meet up with the approaching blurs.

“Ah knew Ah was right to expect company, do y'all know what's going on here?” she called outward. Applejack slowed her pace as she passed under the archway entrance to her farm, and gave a look of acknowledgment to both Pinkie and Twilight, who both nearly skidded to a stop.

“Well... what is it you don't know?” Twilight asked with a breath. “I'm sure that you know just as much as we do just from looking up into the sky!” Applejack tensed her lips, and looked down and away from the duo.

“Yeah.... Ah guess that was a given,” she whispered, before looking back up to the two. “Do you have a plan of action then?” she asked back.

“Well... I don't know...” Twilight admitted, her head mimicking her sentence's level of confidence. “I mean, I desperately want to investigate Canterlot, but I also feel the need to make sure everything around Ponyville stays stable.”

“Canterlot?” Applejack asked with a turned head. “Ah didn't get a chance to see that, Ah was too busy being spooked by one of them lights flying practically over me an' Applebloom's heads to see that.” She raised one of her fore-hooves upward and pointed it behind herself. “It felt real close too! Ah could bet mah whole dang farm on that thing landing in Ghastly Gorge!”

“Huh?” Twilight replied.

“I knew it!” Pinkie exclaimed, the other two turning to see her pump one of her fore-hooves in the air. “I knew I felt a small tremor!” she said with a satisfying smile. “Even though...” She suddenly dropped her smile. “That might mean someone got hurt from that...” She turned her gaze over to Applejack.

“You really could feel that all the way from Ghastly Gorge?” Twilight asked back.

“It's an earth pony thing, Twi,” Applejack answered. “Part of having spiritual strength and a strong heart is feeling the world around you,” she said with a proud smile.

“Some of the many traits I've envied of you two for so long.” Twilight looked up to the sky. “At any rate, I'd say our best course of action would be to investigate Ghastly Gorge, who knows what kind of chaos that impact alone has caused?”

“Then what are we waiting for then?”

“Rarity and Spike. They should be here any moment now, then we can make our way there,”

“Speaking of which,” Applejack said, pointing her fore-hoof past Twilight. All eyes looked down the path to see a white and purple blur approaching them. Then all eyes saw more blurs appear behind all of them, all the new blurs golden in color.

“The royal guard is here already?” Twilight asked aloud. The three mares all watched as the two awaited members of their group came within earshot, and soon in hooves reach of each other. Rarity gave a small smile and nod to the present company, while Spike had his arms crossed. Rarity had two saddlebags on her sides, while Spike wore a bag that wrapped around one of his shoulders.

“I'm afraid I ran into... complications...” Rarity said quietly. “Our guests is one of them.... but, there is another very important complication I'm sure you're not going to like.”

“Two, actually,” Spike added. He leaned forward slightly, bracing his arms against Rarity's back. “Rarity and I need to investigate Ponyville's small mountain range to the north, and Twilight here is gonna lead part of this guard troop to wherever you guys were gonna go,” he said aloud, with an annoyed undertone.

“What?!” Twilight yelped, immediately darting her eyes over the crowd of guards. “M-me l-lead a platoon of guards? I-I don't know how to command- er, lead, the royal guard! That's my brother's job! He's the captain, he should be able to-”

“Twilight!” Spike interrupted, causing the lavender mare to flinch. “When I said 'lead,' I mean just direct them to where they need to investigate. They're here for our safety, you're not gonna command them to do synchronized dancing or anything like that,” he said, with a roll of his eyes.

“Oh... hehe...” Twilight laughed, her cheeks flushed with red as she did so.

“Spike and I saw one of those lights flash a bit in the sky, I believe four times,” Rarity said, placing a fore-hoof to her chin. “After the fourth one, it disappeared out of the sky, but I deduced that it would land in the mountain range if it didn't disappear.”

“I'm not sure if it's ironic or coincidental that it's where you go to mine gems,” Spike whispered with a smile on his face.

“An omen or not, Spikey-Wikey, the harsh reality is that we must duo-head our own regime of guards.” She turned back to Twilight, a frown on her face.

“Oh! Nearly forgot! Before we saw the light do its little act in the sky, I got this!” Spike said, reaching into his bag. “Hang on.... aha!” he exclaimed, pulling out a scroll.

“Oh! From the princesses!” Twilight said, while reaching out to grab the scroll with her magic. The scroll opened up, and Twilight brought it in front of her face. “To my faithful student and her friends. I'm sure you're very aware of the situation that all of Equestria has been presented with. Time is of the essence, so I must make this brief by skipping proper introductions and speech. My sister and I are sending guards to watch over Ponyville and yourselves, I ask that you do what you can to help them help yourselves with this predicament. I urge you to divide and conquer as well, I do not want to let any opportunities of chaos fester and spread. Princess Celestia,” Twilight read aloud.

“Yeah, these guys kinda told us already when they showed up, but I remembered what you said.”

“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight gave a sigh. “Okay, since we have to divide and conquer, I suppose it's for the best that you two are going together. You know that place better than any of us, plus given how potentially dangerous the gorge could be, I think the rest of us going there would be best,” Twilight said aloud.

“Very well then,” Rarity agreed, tuning herself away from the three other mares. “I wish you all good luck on your... adventure,” Rarity said, walking away, with a good portion of the group of guards following her.

“You too, take care of each other you two!”

“Don't worry about us! Worry about your own hide!” Spike called back. “Ow! What was that for?” he added aloud. Twilight giggled slightly as the duo disappeared from her view, but her giggles died down shortly as she looked upon the sight before her. All the guards had their respective eyes on her and her friends, Twilight figuratively and literally gulped as she returned the gaze. “A-alright... we're... going to be...” she paused, taking a quick breath. “Going to G-Ghastly Gorge!” she yelped quickly, quickly snapping her her eyes shut in preparation for their reaction.

“Twilight? You alright there?” Applejack whispered. Twilight snapped her eyes open half way and looked to see her friend next to her.

“N-not exactly. I mean, how am I supposed to address them? They're part of the royal guard! Do I address them like a captain or leader of the guard should? What if I can't do that properly? What If I end up belittling them? What if they get mad at me for trying to talk to them and tell them what to do in the first place? What-”

“Twi,” Applejack interrupted, also placing a fore-hoof on her friend's shoulder. “Ahm sure they're well aware that you're not... properly trained.” She flashed a sheepish smile. “We're all people here, we make mistakes, and making a mistake on your first try is practically expected.”

“Plus, you got us here to back you up!” Pinkie chimed in. Twilight gave a little sigh, but followed up with a small smile after.

“Okay... I'll try again,” Twilight inhaled deeply, and looked back over to the remaining guards. “Okay, our destination is Ghastly Gorge. We need to head out of Ponyville and walk along the edge of the Everfree forest to do so, for those who are not aware,” her eyes widened suddenly. “Not that I'm implying that you wouldn't be aware! Hehe...” she trailed off. “We... need to head south, and I believe the princesses wanted us to do that now, are we all ready to move?” she asked aloud. All the guards in response showed their varying confirmations; nods, grunts, or quelled sentences. Twilight herself let out yet another sigh and turned back to Applejack and Pinkie.

Her two friends gave their own nods of confirmation, and each of them turned toward the south, and also toward the general direction of Ghastly Gorge. Twilight began to take her first steps toward the Gorge in a slow trot. As Twilight inched away from her position, Applejack and Pinkie both took their positions at her six, with the guards filing behind all of them.

Twilight turned her head and observed all the various ponies following her, all of them staring at either her, or the space she was heading toward. She snapped her head forward again and looked off well into the distance. Her eyes furrowed, and her head nodded quickly, followed by her pace increasing. The rhythm of every pony's steps increased in response as well, and suddenly a stampede comprised of three adventure familiar mares and a platoon of royal guards was made.

Crixalis stirred from his brush with death, and slowly began to peel his eyes open. The area in front of him was blurred like a mirage, but he could make out an overwhelming theme of gray. He groaned slightly and push himself off the ground and set his upper body perpendicular with the ground below him. He unhinged his mouth in breathed inward, and held the breath inside. With a violent cough, he released that very breath and let out another moan. He felt the consequences of the actions by him and of his earlier predicament course through him. He blinked his eyes, and shook his whole being slowly, taking in the results of the whole endeavor. When the Djinn of Qaldin created the armor that Crixalis would become, it was built to be as indestructible as trying to remove an entire desert. It may shift and break underneath in key parts, but your efforts overall don't stop the desert from existing, unless it is rid of in one fell swoop. He looked upward at focused, as much as he could, on where he was.

Blink away the illusions of pain, let no outer influence deter your mind, focus on the situation at hand. You're not alone in this, and you're not out of danger still. He opened his eyes and looked forward. All around him in every direction he looked, he found the foundations of a cave. He slowly aligned himself upward and stretched out his limbs despite the pain and lack of feeling that overwhelmed him. He brought his arms upward and began to use his back legs to walk forward, only for him to immediately find his upper body falling back down to the ground. A growl escaped his being as he craned his head behind him, as he looked behind him, his jaw and eyes opened up in shock. He picked up his head off the ground, and took a quick glance around the cave. Off to his left, he saw a shiny red-like substance spread out near an indent in the left. He once again pushed himself off the ground, and began to stagger over to the substance, which he could see his reflection in it. As he neared it, his jaw opened even more in shock as he looked upon his full form.

“What means of manipulation is this?” He looked at the being staring back at him. He looked around and outward from his position, but could not see anything else in the area. “If this is truly me, then this also truly complicates things...” He focused his gaze back on his reflection. “My stingers are gone, I have fangs now, and I've lost four of my legs and two eyes! Are these actual lips and... malleable skin? It seems I'm now a mix of an invertebrate and a mammal!” he looked downward at himself, and raised one of his reformed arms upward to his head. “And holes in my very being? What kind of incomplete craftsmanship is this?” he looked upward toward the ceiling, and then spoke his next words aloud. “Unless this is the work of the Djinn, whom I know would not do this, I am obligated even as just a living being to know what all of this is!” he shouted aloud, his voice echoing down the cave.

No response came, and Crixalis himself responded with a huff of frustration before turning back to the substance. He looked at the details of his new form. He was equine in shape, but it seemed his armored exterior and other spots on him betrayed the idea of him being all mammal. His eyes were the same as his previous body; bright green with a circular gradient shine of white to represent a 'pupil' of his. On top of his his head, two spikes not unlike the ones from his signature 'Burrow Strike' ability were sprouted outward, giving him an actual pair of ears. Yet he was an arachnid before, so was he part insect now as well?

His armored exterior still retained all the same colors, but some aspects seemed to have been moved around. His once darkened underside near his arms was now wrapped specifically around his 'stomach' area in terms of the equine shape. His back now held a layer of the bright crimson that was spread out across his scorpion body. His tail was retained in all form, yet Crixalis observed that it seemed to be able to now be curled downward and to his sides now.

Crixalis jumped away from his position as a small tremor echoed across the cave. He curled himself around and began to scan the walls, crouching downward as well. He cautiously began to step away from the way, alternating between looking down at his steps and up around the cave with each step he took. As he walked, a slow rumble began to echo around him. He looked to various point on the walls and the floor, before shooting his gaze directly downward.

As he did, the ground below him exploded around him and a set of teeth surrounded and threatened to clamp down on him. He immediately extended his legs outward fully and slipped out one side of the creature's mouth, feeling one of his back legs grace one of the razor sharp teeth. As he landed and tumbled across the ground, he turned to face his aggressor; a giant eel that was coming out of the ground, colored the same red as the substance he found. He gritted his teeth and got back up onto all fours, facing his opponent. The moment did not last as he turned to the wall closest to him, as he did, another eel penetrated the rock and surged toward him. He repeated his previous action and jumped out of the way, putting both of the creatures in his sight.

“A kingdom of land eels... fishes in rock,” he commented outward, darting his eyes between the two, both of whom were looking to him. He gazed downward to the ground, tremors still all around him. “Challenge accepted then,” he declared, raising his head back up, a smile now across his face. “Let's see which kingdom of the earth is better.” As he said this, more eels began to burst out of all sides of the cave, some near and some far from his position. The two that were present suddenly retreated back into the holes that they made, Crixalis merely turned and continued to move down the direction of the cave he was moving before. With each step, his rhythm gradually began to become more consistent, while the rhythm of eels coming and going increased.

As he passed by a pillar of rock that extended to the floor and ceiling, a group of eels emerged in front of him in a cluster. As he neared them, he leaped into the air, and dove front legs first into the ground in front of them. As he connected, goldenrod spikes surrounded his form and he disappeared beneath them. As the spikes surged forward, the eels caught in the wave were all uprooted from the ground and flew into the air. As the spikes passed by the cluster, Crixalis' form emerged from the row of spikes and landed back onto the ground. As he turned to observe his work, he saw the fully bodies of some of the eels sprawled outward before him. The length and radial size varied greatly between the various victims.

Before he could take a moment to inhale, Crixalis crouched slightly and took a step to his right as an eel burrowed upward near him. After the eel fully emerged, more eels began to surround and encircle him across the ground. He shifted his whole body around to observe them all, but stopped as one eel that was nearly twice the size as the rest of them emerged in front him. All of them reeled backward suddenly, all of their jaws wide open, and began to lurch forward.

Sand suddenly began to blow outward from the holes in Crixalis' legs. As if on instinct, Crixalis threw his front legs upward, and sat himself down onto the ground. He began to hum outward, his front legs being waved through the air. All the eels suddenly stopped as the newly introduced sand began to whip at their forms, some screeching outward in pain before burrowing away.

Inside the newly created sandstorm, Crixalis waved his fore-hooves around him, the sand following those very movements. He watched in satisfaction with a wide smile on his face as his assailants all reeled back in response. While he was missing his stingers, he did not have to always resort to physical means to win his battles, so to speak. As he channeled and chanted, he looked directly at the larger eel in front of him, and merely smiled it metaphorically stood its ground. It visibly struggled against the storm, yet it wasn't enough to knock it over.

Crixalis thoughts, but not chanting, stopped for a moment as he felt a liquid fall downward onto himself. Through the sand, he found a green substance sliding down his underside. He looked upward and found nothing above him, yet he felt another drip of the substance drop down onto him again. He moved one of his fore-legs across his form and felt around his lower chin, looking for any wounds of sorts. As he passed under his muzzle, he felt the substance drip again, and found that it was coming from his fangs.

“So... that's where my stingers went then...” he said quietly, picking himself off the ground. The sand around him began to slow down, and even began to fly back into his form. Still under the cover of the sand, he walked up to the eel, and looked to its long body. “A tad barbaric, but to live is to adapt,” he commented, opening his mouth wide.

The eel itself scanned downward for where Crixalis was in the sand storm, and suddenly froze as a pain erupted outward across its whole frame. For a split second, it resisted the urge to scream outward, but it was only when the assaulting objects left her form did it submit to the action. The eel collapsed downward, falling across the ground in front of itself. Crixalis merely stood near its head, looking down at it and one of his own fore-hooves wiping his mouth.

“Stings... doesn't it?” Crixalis commented. “I may have struck a critical point on your body, but I just wanted to give you a taste of my venom. You may not see the... after effects, but I think the passive nature of it is enough. Most heroes can fight off the dryness and crippling nature of it; you on the other hand, don't seem to have that strength,” he said down to the earth fish. He snapped his gaze down next to him as an eel burst forward and clamped down on his other front leg. A hiss of pain came off the Sand King as the eel's teeth wrapped around him limb. Crixalis placed his other front leg back down onto the ground, and reeled his head backward. As shot his head downward toward the lone eel, drops of venom sailed through the air. As he sunk his own teeth into the eel, it too cried out in pain, freeing his leg. As he pulled away, the eel immediately burrows itself back underground, and Crixalis looked up to observe more and more eels emerging around him.

“I think I shall do the Waste a favor, and by extension this land too.” Crixalis' scorpion tail raised upward, and suddenly struck the ground. As it landed, the whole cave began to vibrate at a new frequency, all eels in the area stopped staring toward Crixalis and began to look around. “Run... if you can,” he yelled outward, in a menacingly calm tone. His tail was raised back upward before he spoke again. “I don't need much strength in this regard, but I don't think I'm prepared to fight an entire army directly.” He brought his tail down again, and raised himself onto his hind legs. “Know now, why I am the Waste's king, and its army.” He brought his fore-legs down onto the ground, and the whole cave shook again. His tail whipped up and down, bringing up rocks, and causing quakes with each strike. Eels all around began to screech and roar, some already retreating as rocks from the ceiling began to fall downward.

Crixalis merely continued to smile outward, and watched around him as stalactites began to fall, and various eels all fled. He gave one last glare to the eel that was the first victim to his venom, before turning to walk to a wall of the cave. He placed a fore-hoof to it, and tapped it a few times. He nodded to himself, bringing it backward, and striking against the wall. He picked up his whole body and burrowed himself into the wall, leaving the eels to the mercy of the quake.

“What in Celestia and Luna's manes was that?” Twilight asked aloud, her voice steady and worried, and one of her lower eyes tensed upward.

“It... felt like an earthquake... well, underground,” Applejack answered. “You think there was a massive rock slide there?”

“It could be possible, it's not like we haven't had our fair share of rock slides happen to us.” She looked back to the guards, seeing them all looking around the area. Trees surrounded them, but not ones of the Everfree. In the distance, and in the direction they were all facing, the treeline ended.

“We're definitely close, Ah just hope Pinkie's okay, she desperately wanted to check up on her fam-”

“Wait!” Twilight interrupted. “I feel something...” she said, looking out in front of her. Applejack's looked to the ground, her eyes widening as she inspected it.

“Sweet Celestia,” the farmpony whispered. “Something's coming... something big!” she yelled outward.

“We need to get to the gorge, now!” Twilight declared, breaking back into a sprint, her friend and the guards following. Both mares looked to each other, and then out into the distance as they passed by the exit of the woods. All of the ponies were greeted with the Equestrian wonder that was Ghastly gorge. Stretching to both their left and right, the great chasm was only proceeded by a large plane of pure rock.

“Stop!” Applejack yelled, coming to a halt immediately. She looked over to Twilight who nearly tripped at her friend's order. “It's... so close,” both mares looked to the ground, and found the ground shaking and pebbles jumping around. They and the guards all looked to their right as the rumbling converged closer to the surface. The guards themselves ran past the mares and began to form along the rock bed, all crouched and ready at the possible incoming threat.

“Applejack...” Twilight whispered, stepping over to he friend. “Do you think... it's possible that maybe we could-” Twilight stopped as an explosion of rock appeared in front of all of them. Twilight herself ducked onto the ground and covered her neck, while Applejack stood her ground. The unicorn peeked her gaze upward from the ground, and both of them in turn look through the crowd of guards to the origin point of the eruption. Both of their respective eyes shot outward in shock as they saw a hoof shoot out of the ground, but the hoof was full of holes.

“No way...” the orange mare whispered, stepping forward through the guards. Twilight looked to Applejack, and then picked herself off the ground and began to run to the front of platoon of guards. Along the way, they each ushered their own set of remarks to give them room, all the meanwhile watching the figure emerge from the ground. As they both reached the front, Twilight's horn flared with magic, while Applejack began to paw at the ground with a single fore-hoof. All eyes were dead set on the figure emerge from the ground, and all either collectively gulped or gasped upon seeing a goldenrod changeling step onto the still solid rock.

Crixalis grunted outward as he forced the rest of his body out from the earth, landing on all fours and stretching all his limbs. Barely seconds into doing so, he found that an entire platoon of guards and two mares were staring at him with varying scowls.

“Well, well... so it seems I now meet residents of yet another kingdom,” he spoke outward. “I suppose that you are all both in awe and mortified at my presence, no?” he asked, brushing a fore-hoof against his chest.

“'Mortified?' Not exactly the right word,” Twilight said back. “If anything, the only 'awe' is how you're a different type of changeling than what we've seen. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“A 'changeling' now?” he said back, stretching out his hoof and inspecting it.

“What do you mean by that?” Applejack spoke back. “Y'all sure do meet the physical description for one, 'cept for the fact you ain't got wings or a horn there, or the colors y'all got on ya.”

“Hmm... very interesting,” he muttered, lowering his head and closing his eyes in thought. “I may not fully understand the full situation here, but it seems my very body is a changeling in it of itself.” Twilight and Applejack each looked to one another upon hearing his words, Twilight's magic fading away. Some of the guardsponies broke away from their gaze forward and began to look at each other as well for a few moments. “Before I fell out of the sky, my body was merely a piece of armor brought to life, shaped as a scorpion.” He placed his fore-hoof back onto the ground, while at the observers of him snapped their gaze back forward. “Now you claim my body to be a... changeling, yet the very fact that it was morphed when I arrived here makes it also a changeling in the metaphorical sense. That is to say, my body is the changed aspect that is causing conflict here,” he explained, retaining his smile throughout his speech. Twilight shot a quick glance to Applejack, who merely shot back a shrug of her shoulders. Twilight took a breath inward and a step forward toward Crixalis.

“So... you've never heard of the changeling species?” she asked aloud.

“Of the many races I've encountered, I have not,” he answered. “I've seen many people show of their mastery of transfiguration; but by the Ancients or perhaps some other means, they have never lasted this long or have given me this shape.”

“'Ancients?'” Twilight looked back to Applejack, a smile slowly forming on the unicorn's face. “H-he is from their world!” Applejack turned her eyes, but not her head to Crixalis.

“So he was that light that flew near my farm,” Applejack whispered, not adverting her gaze from Crixalis. “I can't remember all the names they gave us.” She turned her eyes back to Twilight. “Do you happen to remember which hero he is?” She looked back to the guards. “And be quick about it, they all look ready to jump at him,” she warned. Twilight looked back to the guards, her toothy smile snapping into a frown as she saw many of them keeping hardened stares at Crixalis.

“I can't think straight at the moment... I'm already getting a headache processing all this,” she shook her head, and turned herself back to Crixalis. “Who are you then... if I might ask?” she called over to the former arachnid.

“Hmm, now we get to the formalities; though part of me just knows how you're going to react already.” He bowed downward slightly, closing his eyes. “I am known as Crixalis, the Sand King,” he said aloud. Applejack and Twilight looked to each other with wide eyes and mouths hung open, each one pointing a fore-hoof forward to Crixalis. “From where I am from, I am in fact of royalty,” he added, as he raised himself back up to full height, which was easily a full pony head above most of the guards. Twilight looked back to the guards, some of them looking to her in response. She looked to Applejack, who only shot back a look of concern to her friend.

“That... that has to be a coincidence...” Twilight said, breaking the awkward silence. She turned to Crixalis, and pointed a fore-hoof to him. “I remember your hero title now; but how can you be a king, and have such a similar name to her?!” she yelled toward Crixalis, who tilted his head to one side.

“What are you-”

“It has to be a sheer coincidence!” Twilight interrupted, her eyes closed tight. “I mean, one might think you're the long last... partner, of Chrysalis! You could be the ruler of another hive of changelings, and you and her just had a spectacular union to helping bring harmony to changelings! You-”

“Twi!” Applejack yelled to her friend. Twilight snapped her eyes open, breathing heavily inward. Her cheeks flushed red as she look to Crixalis, and then to Applejack.

“Uh...”

“Take it easy now, Twi, maybe we let him speak?” the farmpony suggested, waving a fore-hoof over toward Crixalis.

“O-okay... I-I mean, I know we didn't get all of their names; but this is-”

“Ah know, Twi,” Applejack interrupted. “Mah own head here is performing a square dance solo over that connection, but we can worry about that later.” She looked back to the guards, a nervous frown following. “And Ah don't mean to make you more nervous, but seeing as how you're the one leading all of em...” she trailed off, looking back to Twilight.

“A-alright, alright... focus...” she whispered, looking back to Crixalis.

“Before you ask me a question,” Crixalis spoke up, causing Twilight to flinch. “What is this business if similar names, if I may ask?”

“Oh... uh...” Twilight looked down to the ground. “You see...”

“There's a queen here named Chrysalis, and you're a king named Crixalis,” Applejack spoke up, Twilight snapped her gaze over to her friend. “She's queen of the changelings, you're king of the... sand, and you happen to look like a changeling.” Crixalis' eyes widened, and a fore-hoof was placed on his head.

“You're right, that is a sheer coincidence,” he replied. “I would not be surprised if that caliber of coincidence was on Zeus' strikes of incompetence.” He shook his head, planting his fore-hoof back on the ground. “I won't let that distract me, I believe that you had a question?”

“Y-yeah,” Twilight said. “I believe it's best to assume that you're not from here, correct?” she asked the king.

“Your assumption would be correct,” Crixalis replied back, stroking one of his fore-hooves on the ground. “Probably not even more than an hour ago, I and four others were banded together in conflict, one space and time shattering flash of light later I'm falling out of the sky,” he commented, also kicking away a rock. Twilight gasped slightly and looked back to the guards, all of them starting to move forward, which did not go unnoticed by Crixalis. “Do I happen to be trespassing in your domain? Your troops seem ready to declare war against me.” He bent downward, his back and tail arching upward.

“T-troops? Uh... I mean, they're not-” Twilight looked back and forward between the guards and Crixalis. She gulped slightly as she broke into a sprint away from the guards and toward Crixalis. As she neared the halfway point between the them, she skidded herself to a stop and turned back to the guards. “Everyone, stand down!” she declared outward, all the guards stopping immediately afterword, some of them looking to each other in confusion. “I'll admit I don't know what guard procedures you're about to... uh, follow through with. But if he truly is where I, and maybe the rest of you are thinking, then I know that he is in fact a king! Therefore, he's an ambassador on Equestrian soil; we owe ourselves and the princesses to give him the respect he deserves!” Twilight began to breath heavily after her speech, watching all the guards to see their next move. She looked over to Applejack and saw her slowly moving out of the way of all of them, and then to Crixalis who retained his stance.

Soon though, the guards all began to stand straight upward, collectively relaxing their forms. Twilight herself breathed out a noticeable sigh of relief. Twilight glanced over to Applejack, who was walking over to meet her. She looked over to Crixalis, who stood back up straight, his tail falling downward as well.

“You honor me well, and I shall honor you by following in your steps,” he replied, giving another bow downward. Twilight blushed in response the gesture, shaking her head and turning to meet Applejack.

“Good going there, Twi, but what now?” Applejack asked, also taking a glance to Crixalis.

“It's quite a walk back to Ponyville, and then there's the matter of transporting... Crixalis, to Canterlot,” she said, wiping her forehead. “We also need to rendezvous with Pinkie, and make sure she's okay. Right now, do you think you can tell the guards that we're heading back?” she asked.

“No problem, just get... the king there to follow us.” She leaned toward Twilight's ear. “Ah reckon though to distance him from the rest of them,” she whispered. Twilight gave a small nod, Applejack turning to walk back to the guards. Twilight turned back to Crixalis, and nearly jumped as she saw him walking up to her.

“O-oh my, a-are you ready to go then?” she asked, her legs buckling slightly.

“As much as a proper explorer to the Waste is,” he replied back. Twilight's ears perked up at his remark.

“T-the Waste? Is that where you're from? Er, I mean, your kingdom?” she asked, excitement in her voice.

“All in due time, young one,” he said back. Twilight's ears dropped downward, a sigh escaping from her. She looked back over to the group of guards, with Applejack looking back to them.

“Very well. Then I, Twilight Sparkle, will be your escort to the rulers of our land,” she said, placing a fore-hoof on her chest.

“I am honored, please lead on,” he said back, one of his own fore-hooves stretched outward. Twilight nodded, and turned to walk back to the others. As she neared, the guards all began to walk as well, back toward the forest. As Twilight neared Applejack, the farmpony began to walk as Twilight passed by her.

“Ah sure hope you know what you're doing, Twi.” she whispered.

“I don't unfortunately,” she said back immediately, dropping her head and ears. “All those lights in the sky were heroes, we got lucky last time with whom we've met, but now we have new ones on our hooves. With what we've been told, how can we stand up to heroes of this caliber? For all we know, the king there could have caused that earthquake we felt,”

“Be better heroes, by being stronger together,” Applejack said back, placing a fore-hoof on Twilight's shoulder. “Just because one link in the chain is mighty strong, doesn't mean the whole dang thing is as strong as it. We all know how powerful our friendship is, we've seen it first hoof.” Twilight gave a smile back to her friend.

“Thanks, Applejack.” She looked forward, back to the forest that lead back home. “Even when we've been literally altered, we've still managed to pull through. This time, we've got experience, we'll see this through,” she declared. She looked back Crixalis, who was gazing around at the scenery. “Why don't you lead on? I'll tend to our... ambassador,” she whispered. Applejack nodded, increasing her pace, while Twilight slowed her pace to be in line with the Sand King. “So... King... Crixalis, what do you need to know of Equestria?”