Chapter 28

___________________________________________________________

I don’t know how long Twilight holds me as I cry, my tears falling onto her coat.

At some point, Luna had left and said something about coordinating aid for everypony, but I hadn’t heard her properly.

After what feels like hours, I manage to calm myself enough and pull away from Twilight, meeting her eyes.

She’s giving me a firm, but soft look.

We don’t need words. She understands.

A tug from my side makes me lower my head slightly to see Spike hugging my side.

Giving a sad smile, I lean down and nuzzle him, wrapping a wing around him.

“Come on, Ken,” Twilight says after a few moments. “We should find Luna and see what we can do for our ponies.”

Taking a deep breath, I sigh and nod, my expression firming. “With his initial invasion force defeated, the Storm King will likely notice when they don’t report back. We’ll need Canterlot to be ready.”

I put Spike on my back and we fly up to a terrace, Twilight using her magic to sense Luna’s.

We find her among a group of five guards, whom she’s giving orders to.

The moment she spots us, though, she dismisses them and comes over.

She quickly hugs me with a wing. “Mother, I… I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through.”

I return the embrace as best I can, a feat I’ve still yet to fully master due to my daughter being so much bigger than I. “Thank you, Lulu. For now, my comfort can wait, though. Our subjects need us.”

“Anything on how we can free Cadance and Princess Celestia from stone?” Twilight asks as we pull away.

Luna shakes her head. “None. Though, it has been less than an hour, Twilight Sparkle. Expecting more would be foolish.”

“Oh,” Twilight blushes, looking away. “Um, right.”

“Princess Ken! Princess Twilight!”

We turn at the familiar voice as a young yellow unicorn and her orange mother run towards us.

Before I can do more than open my mouth as I smile, however, a white figure steps briskly in front of me.

“What do you peasants think you’re doing?!” Blueblood says, staring down sternly at the two of them, as if they’re nothing more than mud on his hoof.

“Oh!” Sunny clams up, stuttering. “Well-well, you see, I wanted to find out if Princess Ken is alright after—”

“We have just been invaded by an enemy force!” Blueblood snaps, causing Sunny to wilt, her mother holding her defensively. “Princess Luna, Princess Twilight and my future wife have far more important matters on their minds than the musing of a worthless filly who doesn’t know her place! Now, Princess Ken,” he says, turning around to me, his eyes closed, a smug expression on his face, “I would be happy to—”

“Shut up!”

He opens his eyes, bewildered as I stare back at him, snarling.

“I… I beg your pardon, belove—”

“Shut your fucking mouth right this instant, you worthless excuse for royalty!” I shout, cutting him off. “What gives you any right to talk that way?!”

He looks confused, before clearing his throat. “I felt I should show initiative, to prove my desire to wed you is true, dearest Ken. You have your hooves full, running our kingdom and dealing with filthy abominations invading us today, so, I thought I’d make sure the rabble know their place. I hardly see why that would make you angry—”

“First of all,” I snap, cutting him off again, the thinning of his smile telling me he definitely does not like that, “I invited Sunny and her mother to the festival myself! They are my guests! Second, abominations? One of the invaders was a pony, like yourself! Yet, you call her an abomination?”

“Well, with how you treated her, do you not feel the same, dearest Ken?” he asks, his nose wrinkling as Tempest is carried past us on a stretcher, that weird hedgehog following after, his hands cuffed. “That disgusting broken horn of hers. It’s an insult to unicorns. Why her clearly beggar parents did not have her put down, I will never under—”

“Luna had a broken horn the day I gave up my being to save this kingdom! Would you call her an abomination for having had a broken horn, Blueballs?!” I almost scream.

“I, um… she what?” he glances to Luna, only to be met with a cold glare. “Even so, as an Alicorn, she clearly recovered, my dearest. And, that’s not my name, you know. Besides, a mere peasant unicorn—”

“And WHAT,” I cut him off, briefly going RCV, “gives you, in any sense of the imagination, the idea that you are going to be married to me?! What ever gave you the twisted, repulsive, insane idea that I would ever want to marry you, of all creatures?!”

He blinks, seeming like the idea I wouldn’t want to marry him never crossed his mind for even a millisecond.

“I would never want to marry a creature like you, Blueballs?!”

He just stands there, his mouth flapping silently, before finally flustering, “Creature?!”

“I’d have thought, given we were just invaded, you’d put your ego on hold for just a few minutes, but I was clearly giving you too much fucking credit!” I give him a smile that shows I’m angry, but about to enjoy my next words. “So, listen very carefully, Blueballs, because I will not be repeating myself again.”

His fur bristles. “It is Blueblood, not balls. How you’re even making that mistake, I don’t—”

“I will never marry you,” I cut him off, the scowl he has telling me he’s getting tired of that. “I wouldn’t marry you if you and I were the only remaining ponies alive in the entire world and the very survival of the pony species depended on it, you self-centred, egotistical, self-serving, spineless, thin-skinned, gutless, heartless, misogynistic, uneducated, arrogant, uncharismatic, repulsive, worthless excuse for a member of the royal family!”

He looks like he’s about to pop a blood vessel. Time for the killing blow to his overblown ego.

I step back and take Twilight’s hoof. “I’m marrying Twilight, not you and there’s nothing you can do to change that, Blueballs!”

He opens his mouth to retort, before his eyes widen as what I said seems to actually click in whatever tiny excuse his has for a mind. “WHAT? Married, to Twilight Sparkle?! But, she… she’s your sister! That’s illegal!”

“Actually, it’s not!” Twilight says firmly, giving him a stern stare. “Marriage within families, including siblings, has always been legal in Equestria. The practice merely fell out of favour after the pony race wasn’t at risk of extinction due to low numbers and has always been done sparingly since.”

“But-but… but, you… you CAN’T!” he half shouts, half whines. “I intended to marry Princess Ken, not you!”

“We were intending to announce our engagement during the festival, after Songbird Serenade finished her set,” I continue, “but, obviously, the invasion put that on hold.” I sneer maliciously. “So sorry if that puts a wrench in any of your plans, Blueballs.”

“I… I refuse!” he huffs loudly, raising his voice and stomping a hoof. “I am the only one worthy of your marriage, Princess Ken! I will see to it your current engagement is nullified immediately and our engagement be not only announced, but made official and binding by the law at once!”

“We have ponies to look after,” Twilight indicates to the crowd around us, whom the white stallion seems to ignore. “We should be putting their needs before our own first.”

“Screw the worthless peasants!” he snaps, glaring daggers at Twilight. “I am royalty and my desires are first and foremost of utter importance over those vermin! Your wedding shall never happen and I will become my dearest Ken’s true prince! Auntie Luna?” He looks firmly to the tallest of us three Alicorns. “Please see to it that what is right is done immediately?!”

Luna just watches him for a moment, her expression neutral (aw, crap, this could go bad), before she gives a small, knowing smirk of a smile.

“Of course, nephew. I shall ensure the right thing is done immediately.”

Twilight, Spike and I whirl our heads around, staring at Luna in shock.

The stallion sneers. “Thank you, Auntie. I am glad you are seeing reason at the very least.”

She nods. “Indeed, I am. Guards?”

Several unicorn and pegasi guards, an even mix of grey and white, quickly stand before her, saluting.

“Yes, Your Highness?” the middle grey stallion says, the two white mares next to him standing a little more at attention. “What do you wish of us now?”

Luna looks to me, winks(?), then looks towards the white unicorn. “Please see to it that Prince Blueballs is returned and confined to his chambers until such a time as my sister and I can deal more appropriately with him.”

He sneers. “You see? The right thing will always—” He pauses, blinking in confusion. “Wait, I must have misheard you? Or did you misspeak?”

Luna gives him a firm smirk. “Oh, no, dear nephew. You did not mishear nor have I misspoke. Guards? Take him, now,” she thrusts a hoof forward.

Nodding, the guards all turn around, converging on Blueballs from all sides.

“No, wait! You can’t do this to me! I’m royalty—yah!” he cries out as they move on him and start pulling him away, towards the castle. “No! I order you to stop! This is not right! I am ordering you to stop at once!”

“Please come with us and don’t make this any more difficult than it has to be, Prince Blueballs,” one of the mare guards says as he starts to be pulled, well, dragged away.

“Blueblood, not Blueballs, you stupid mare!” he yells, trying and failing to resist. “I refuse to accept this! Auntie Luna? Auntie Luna, stop them now! Auntie!”

As he’s dragged further and further away, until his shouting can barely be heard, I sigh, my body sagging.

Twilight wraps a wing around me in comfort.

“So… you’re getting engaged?”

The question pulls me from my thoughts and I straighten up to see Stellar Flare looking between the two of us with a warm smile. “Well, you don’t need it, Your Highnesses, but you have my blessing.”

“I’m… I’m sorry for the fuss I caused you both, Princess Ken, Princess Twilight,” Sunny apologizes sadly, lowering her head.

I shake my own and lift her chin up with a wing. “First of all, it’s just Ken and Twilight, Sunny. No need for formalities with us. And, don’t apologize.”

“Indeed, young Suns— Sunny,” Luna says, Sunny wilting slightly, causing Luna to look worried herself. Seems she’s still not quite gotten the hang of speaking normally to other ponies without doing so in an official manner. And she’s still wrapping her head around not calling Sunny Sunset.

I wink to Spike and he nudges Luna.

She coughs, trying again, a little less assertively. “You have nothing to apologize for, young Sunny. Our nephew has always been… he has always thought too highly of himself.”

Nice save, Lulu. She almost spoke her true feeling about Blueballs, despite a young filly being present… though, considering what she already heard me say to him, censoring herself was kinda meaningless at this point. Plus, she came from a human world. She has definitely heard far worse before.

“Your Highness?”

We all turn as a pair of Pegasus guards, one grey, one white, land before us, saluting.

I notice the white stallion moving into a position as he salutes to hold some vial of very light-blue potion… that’s making the sound of a phone ring tone? The fuck?

“We found this among the Storm King troopers’ belongings,” the white guard says, holding it out. “We’re unsure its purpose or why it’s making this odd sound.”

I can’t help frowning. If it’s making a ring tone sound…

“Did any of them say what it was or seem like they knew what it is for?” I ask, the grey guard answering.

“Yes, Your Highness. That strange hedgehog creature seemed to know. He seemed very concerned when he saw it was shaking and making that noise.”

Luna nods. “Then bring the hedgehog to us at once.”

___________________________________________________________

We stand in the throne room, myself, Twilight, Luna, Spike, Sunny, her mother and our friends as the guards finish setting up the metal bowl filled with a blue liquid.

“Now, you’re absolutely certain this will work?” Luna gives the hedgehog, whose name is Grubber, apparently, standing at her side, his hands cuffed in irons a firm look.

He nods frantically. “Yes, yes! I promise. Put the potion into the blue liquid and a magical field will let you speak directly with the Storm King. Just, please, promise me you’re going to take care of Tempest.”

“We gave you our word, Grubber,” I say coldly. “Tempest will be treated as a war criminal, which means she’ll get the best medical care we can offer her. Do it,” I nod to the guards, who pour the potion into the liquid.

At once, a plume of smoke and fire rises up… and I hear that old dial-up internet sound? The hell?

Where am I s’pposed to be lookin’? a voice says a grey chin seems to appear, it moving around. I never understand how this spell works. Tempest?!

“Tempest is not here, Storm King!” Luna says firmly.

What? the chin with a mouth asks, moving around. Who said that?

“Over here,” Luna says… a little confused, not that I blame her, as I feel the same.

Where? the chin asks, moving to the right, then the left.

“No, here,” Luna says.

Huh? the chin turns almost completely, before looking to the left.

“No, right,” Luna says, still puzzled. “Look right.”

He turns to his right, before his left again.

“Your other right!” Dash shouts in an exasperated tone.

I facehoof. It’s like that joke about people who don’t understand how to do video calls.

My right? he asks, moving his right, a face like we saw of the banner of Grubber and Tempest’s ship coming into view.

“The Strom King, I presume?” Luna asks firmly.

He blinks, seems confused, before laughing. Okay, Tempest, funny joke. Where are you?

“Your Commander Tempest is currently in our infirmary,” Luna stats. “We are the princesses of Equestria. You invaded our lands without provocation. Why?”

He blinks, looking around, before his eyes pause on Twilight and myself. Since when were you all identical? Granted, you all look the same to me, but you two don’t even have a difference in your colours.

“That is not what matters right now, Storm King,” Luna says firmly, drawing his attention back to her. “You have no right to take our lands. Your actions will not be ignored.”

He looks at her, seeming puzzled, before chuckling. Yeah, that’s very cute. He frowns, glancing around the room through the flaming smoke. Tempest? Joke’s no longer amusing. Report, now!

My eyes widen and the gasp from Twilight at my side tells me she just noticed it too. The staff he’s holding. It’s… but where did he find the…?

“The Staff of Sacanus?” Luna’s eyes widen, before she scowls. “How are you in possession of that lost artefact?!”

“Oh, yeah,” Grubber says matter-of-factly. “Tempest planned on us using that to drain the four pony princesses of their magic. Said something about how it would give the Storm King the power of a hundred armies and … I shouldn’t have said that, should I?” he finishes, noticing my wide-eyed stare at him.

The Storm King looks to the staff. Wait. That’s what this twig is? It can do that?

I facehoof, as does most everypony and dragon in the room. Damnit, Grubber. I know you’re just our prisoner, so have no allegiance to us, but how are, but really?! That was just stupid of you.

“Regardless, you will not succeed,” Luna says coolly. “If you come to our lands expecting us to cower to you, Storm King, you are sorely mistaken. Come to our lands to steal our magic and we will not take it lightly.”

I snarl. “Come to our lands if you dare, Storm King!” I stomp my hoof. “But we will never surrender our magic to you. Come here expecting no fight at all, and you will be sorely mistaken, as your initial invasion force found out, the hard way.

He yawns, a hand over his mouth. Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I’m gonna be there anyway. I’m gonna power up the image falters, the audio getting weird. Bip. Beer. Boooya! the image completely fades away as the flames puff out.

We all turn to Grubber, who wilts, chuckling nervously. “Sorry. Bad spell service. You want me to call him back?”

“That won’t be necessary, Grubber,” I look to Luna. “Luna, we will retrieve help to aid in the fight. There’s no telling how strong the Storm King’s forces are compared to what we’ve already faced. You stay here in Canterlot, rally our forces and see if somepony can free Cadance and your sister.”

Luna nods firmly, before blushing slightly. “We should… probably start with the hippogriffs?”

I scowl. “I told you and your sister to contact them after I left Canterlot. The fact neither of you even bothered to try is very disappointing, Lulu.”

The dark-blue Alicorn wilts like a foal being scolded for eating cookies before dinner. “We-we did look into the matter, Mother. We just… never got around to contacting them.”

“Eh, you wouldn’t have been able to anyway,” Grubber shrugs. “The Storm King attacked them around a year ago, somewhere in the early spring, I think? They all fled underwater somehow, so he couldn’t conquer them... is that important?” he asks, noticing my shocked expression.

I look to Twilight and we nod, before I look to Luna. “I know where to find them. Twilight, Spike, girls, we’re heading for Seaquestria.”

___________________________________________________________

I look around the city of Mount Aris… my heart aching from vague memories barely remembered.

After leaving Canterlot on an airship that was mostly salvageable parts all put together by Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich two days ago, we’d passed over a grungy place I barely remembered was called Klugetown, some jerk messed with our ship when we landed and it fell apart to the point even Pinkie and Applejack together couldn’t fix it.

While looking around for a new ship, we’d run into, much to my surprise, an Abyssinian named Capper.

He got us out of a bit of a bad situation Pinkie created for us after she drew too much attention to us, though I could’ve easily handled it with a couple of slashes with a magical blade, but I was thankful for the help.

He’d offered to help us get a ship, but that we needed to stop by his place first… to which Twilight and I were immediately suspicious.

We were proven justified, when a naked mole rat-like creature named Verko arrived with the intention of taking us to be performance ponies in order for Capper to pay off some debt.

Pssh. Yeah. Like I was just going to allow myself, my wife, son or friends to become some show animals.

A magical blast to the face and Verko was down for the count and Capper was now in my debt, which he repaid by taking us to the docks to find another airship.

Finding one doing business shipping Storm King merchandise (that dude seriously has the biggest ego I’ve ever known), we got the crew, led by a former pirate, Captain Celano, to bring us here with the plan to take us back to Canterlot as repayment for freeing them from the Storm King. Dash even helped them get their groove back.

At first, Twilight was against the idea… until Captain Celano explained how they’re basically like the Straw Hat Pirates from One Piece.

Granted, Twilight and the others didn’t make that connection, but I did. One Piece was a fun show I greatly enjoyed on Toasted TV before school before getting pulled into Equestria all those years ago. 4kidz knows how to make a fun show.

Walking through the gates that look like a pair of Hippogriffs facing each other, however… my heart is heavy.

You know those abandoned towns in scary movies, where it’s revealed either a mass murderer, monster or some other paranormal event caused everyone to leave or vanish overnight?

That’s what it’s like walking through this place, drastically contrasting the splendor I feel it should be.

Houses are in disrepair, moss and other plant life have overgrown multiple areas… the hippogriffs really had been forced to completely abandon their home to live solely in Seaquestria.

“Luna’s gonna be pretty disappointed when we tell her this place is basically abandoned,” Dash says, flying down from yet another rundown house.

“There’s still Seaquestria,” I say firmly. “We just need to find the entrance… if I can remember where it was…?”

I trail off when a voice comes from somewhere, making us all look around.

We head for what looks like it used to be the entrance to some kind of hall, maybe an entertainment building, like a theatre?

As we enter, the sound becomes clearer. It sounds like… singing?

It must be a hippogriff. But… why’s she singing? Why’s she even up here on the surface? Shouldn’t their current queen, Novo, if our experience in the Sombraverse is anything to go by, be keeping them in hiding, since they would be unaware the Storm King is heading to a very likely defeat in Canterlot this moment?

As we look over the edge of what could’ve been a hallway, we see a large room with a pair of hippogriff head statues, water trailing down from the front of each into a pool below.

In the centre of that pool is a large pink flower like crystal, with something glowing yellow inside. Something with the silhouette of a hippogriff’s aquatic form.

I’d fully explained Seaquestria and how the hippogriffs can change to an aquatic form of themselves with the use of a magical pearl that has been in their possession since before Equestria was even founded too the others on the way to Klugetown.

As we look amongst each other, quietly wondering how best to approach the hippogriff without startling her, Twilight accidentally dislodges a loose bit of gravel on the stairs, it falling into the water with a light splash.

The hippogriff silhouette in the crystal moves, gasping. “What was that?”

Before we can react, she moves, diving into the water and going out of sight.

“Hey, wait up!” Pinkie calls, bouncing down the stairs and plopping into the water, calling out, “Cannonball.”

We all rush down, only for Pinkie to surface and tell us the hippogriff is gone, like we couldn’t have figured that out for ourselves.

“Now what?” Twilight facehoofs.

Pinkie starts blowing bubbles into the water, before she’s suddenly yanked back, all of us being pulled along with her as the water in the pool starts swirling and the crystal folds into itself, revealing itself to actually be a flower on a stem ,then goes down.

We’re all pulled down the spiraling water vortex, being dumped out into an underwater cavern, the hole we’d come from closing up.

I quickly look around at everyone, trying to focus. Having had the hindsight to breathe in before we ended up underwater, I have some air to spare, giving me time to think.

I start trying to cast a spell that should give us some air bubbles to breathe… before I feel one suddenly around my head. I… didn’t do that.

I find myself confused as bubbles magically appear around each of the others’ heads as well.

“Way to leave it… to the last minute, Twilight,” Pinkie gasps.

Twilight shakes her head. “I didn’t make these bubbles.”

“Ken?” Dash looks to me and I shake my head.

“Then… who did?” Fluttershy asks.

A few minutes later, we’re traveling through the underwater tunnels with a Seapony named Skystar.

At first she hadn’t trusted us, but after Twilight mentioned The Storm King invaded our land and we’d come to find the Queen of the Hippogriffs, she’d perked right up.

She takes us to a large underwater cavern, where a huge glowing city seemingly carved into the stone from the ceiling down is revealed.

I’m hit with nostalgia. I may not fully remember this place beyond the Sombraverse version, but the lingering memories are enough to give me a warm feeling inside.

Skystar leads us into what is clearly the royal building, what with how extravagant it is, where we see another Seapony sitting on a throne.

“Mother!” Skystar says excitedly, swimming up to the Seapony on the throne, saying in a singsong voice, “Look what I found.”

“Is it another shell?” her mother asks, sounding a little exasperated.

“Mm-mm,” Skystar shakes her head.

“Because I am telling you, if it’s another shell, I am—” she gasps loudly upon seeing us, then rounds on her daughter. “Princess Skystar, whata you done?! You know outsiders are forbidden here! Guards!”

Four Seapony guards with spears swim forward quickly, surrounding us.

“N-no-no-no! Mom, please!” Skystar swims in front of her mother, putting her fins together pleadingly. “It is so not like that! The Storm King is trying to destroy their home too.”

“Actually, he already tried and failed,” Spike points out.

The queen narrows her eyes. “What?”

“Queen Novo,” I swim forward, being as professional as I can. “I am Princess Ken. This is my fiancé, Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight gives a small wave, “and this is our son Spike,” I take the dragon in my hooves briefly, “along with our friends. We’ve come here because we recently were attacked by the Storm King’s forces in an initial invasion attempt.”

“Attempt?” Queen Novo cocks an eyebrow, giving me a scrutinizing gaze. “You mean, it didn’t succeed? And why are you so familiar, young one?”

I can’t help snorting at that.

“Yeah, despite my physical appearance and age, I ain’t young. You’re the young one to me, Queen Novo. It’s been quite a long time since I was last here.” I blink, before composing myself. “Anyway, we’ve come because were informed by one of the Storm King’s forces we captured, a creature named Grubber, informed us he’d attack you a bit over a year ago, before us?”

Confusion enters her eyes. “What are you talking about? I sent word to your Princess, Celestia, back in Spring. Are you telling me you only just got the message?”

“Uh, message?” Spike asks, all of us looking at each other and shrugging.

“Urm, beggin’ yer pardon, yer highness, but, when exactly did you send that message in spring?” Applejack asks… my stomach, and I’m guessing all the others’, drops as it clicks.

She’d had one guard sent to Canterlot to get aid from Princess Celestia… but it turns out that happened during the days leading up to Shining Armour and Cadance’s wedding and, since the guards didn’t report a hippogriff being detained… the Changelings must have gotten to him first, since their Queen had already taken Cadance’s place.

Poor bloke. Hope he didn’t have to suffer long.

So, thanks to the changeling queen, Equestria had no clue about The Storm King’s invasion of Mount Aris until he invaded us.

After we finish all the talks, we agree that Queen Novo, Princess Skystar and a group of guards will accompany us back to Equestria so we can get relations between the kingdoms back up again.

Hopefully, either Luna will have figured out how to free Celestia and Cadance from their stone prisons or Discord will finally get off his ass and help out.

I’d love to hear (and I’m sure Discord would have a joy of a time regaling us) about how the Storm King was flabbergasted as Discord just turned his ships to cotton candy or something, maybe trapping his forces in jello?

I’m sure it will be an amusing story.

And, once everything is said and done, we can get back to the Friendship Festival and Twilight and I can finally announce our engagement to all Equestria.

Author's Note

This is somehow both more and less than I'd hoped to get in this chapter.

I had fully intended for more, for Ken to have a longer interaction with Queen Novo, it clicking in Novo's mind why Ken seemed so familiar, from stories told to her by her grandmother, who heard of them from her grandmother and so on... but i just couldn't find the will.

it probably doesn't help that my dad's been dealing with some health issues lately and it's really making him tired and uncomfortable.

It's nothing seemingly immediately serious, so he's got surgery planned for early next month, but it means he'll be dealing with the unpleasantness of it til then.

Now, I do have 1 more chapter update planned for this story this year, but I won't be releasing that til a few days before Christmas, for reasons I'll explain in the Author's Notes of that update.

Til then, I hope this was enough to tide you over. I'll try to get something else updated before my final update for the year next month, but I'm not sure what that would be or if it will happen.

again, what's going on with my dad isn't exactly helping me feel good either, but we're pressing on.

Also, I had intended for Ken to throw more insults onto the list of what she thinks of Blueballs (yes, that is what he will be referred to as from now on throughout this story), but I'd kinda forgotten them by the time I was able to get to that part (for context, I started writing this yesterday, late into the night and am only finishing now), but, if you can think of any others, I'll add them to the list.

I know it will always be fun hearing each insult she throws his way.

So, hope you enjoyed this chapter and, til next time (whenever that will be, hopefully before next month), stay safe, stay clean, stay strong and see you later everybody