When Technical Support is Too Helpful

"It was adorable when you were a kid, Skaea, but now," Onyx remarked and carefully climbed the stone steps with Skaea on his shoulders, "I think you put on a little weight."

Skaea massaged Onyx's scalp, "You know you love me!"

"Yeah, yeah, kid," Onyx huffed, "I preferred when you were a cute, adorable, non-magical, little eight-year-old who would call me 'Unky'!" Onyx sighed, "Then came your pre-teens and it went down hill from there."

"Pedo!" Astraelle coughed.

Onyx frowned.

"Thank you, Unky, for always loving me and doing everything I wanted!" Skaea chimed.

Onyx rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

The group found themselves down the hallway to the inner sanctum of the sanctuary and a soft green light could be seen around the corner of the hallway. Once they entered the inner sanctum, a massive emerald floated in the middle of the room. The cushion cut gem levitated above a dim, green pool; the gem rotated slowly and did not shine brightly.

Onyx removed Skaea from his shoulders and sat her on a stone bench. He walked up to the Nature Crystal and touched its smooth, glassy surface.

"I thought if a Divine touched it, it would be activated?" Rainbow Dash finally spoke.

Onyx smirked, "That is because I am not a Divine. I have yet to die nor was I born as such. Unlike my four counterparts, I dislike engaging in combat unless I have to. I am a lover, not a fighter. Though, you four should probably not step any closer." He descended the four steps and ruffled Skaea's hair. "Well, I guess we are off to activate the Storm Crystal."

"Can we rest for a minute?" Twilight asked.

"I don't see why not," Onyx sat on a bench and stretched out his legs and wings.

"What's the story with the crystals?" Rainbow Dash questioned as she sat across from Onyx.

"Why do you assume I know?" Onyx inquired with a raised brow.

"Because. . . I dunno. . . you know everything?"

"I'm glad you didn't say because I am old."

"That too!" she gibed.

Onyx heaved a heavy sigh which almost revealed his age to them all. "These old bones of mine need sleep. Astraelle should know the story." He laid on the bench and covered himself with his wing. Within moments, he was fast asleep.

"I am curious about the crystals, as well," Twilight said and sat on the bench next to Astraelle and Skaea. "Would you mind telling us the story?"

"Not really. . ."  Astraelle replied.

"Oh, Heidi! I want to know!" Skaea sat up and waited expectantly.

"First of all, my name is 'Astraelle' and secondly, it is not really fantastic," Astraelle stated.

"Still, any bit of history is worth noting," Twilight had her pencil and notepad ready.

Astraelle rolled her eyes, "The crystals were created as a backup plan in case Grey flew off the handle again. The Dragon Tribes found the largest gems they could and brought them to the Goddess of Nature and Goddess of Water."

"Næschwäā and Wyohtā, right?" Twilight input.

"Yeah," Astraelle continued, "There are six crystals   three of nature and three of storm. The other four are hidden, their locations are only known by the Goddesses themselves."

"What can you tell me about the Goddesses?" Twilight queried.

"Næschwäā is caring and compassionate but has a short temper and believes in balance and order. Which is why she and Darqlon get along perfectly. She believes in survival of the fittest and strength in knowledge. She promotes strength and intelligence, as well as respect and loyalty. For a time, those attributes in Grey drew her to him, as well as him being host to her beloved. When Darqlon separated from Grey, she returned to Darqlon but I always felt that she had lingering feelings for Grey.

As for Wyohtā, she completely hates Grey's entire being, which is why he does not like to swim in natural waters because she has tried on more than one occasion to kill him while he swam in her realm. When Grey. . . forced his way into Heaven the first time. . . he kinda killed her son. . . daughter. . . and husband. She still has one daughter but. . . Grey. . . kinda left Muse mute by nearly killing her."

"Grey has killed a lot of people. . ." Twilight mused.

Astraelle grunted, "He has fucked everyone he's met one way or another."

"Okay. . ." Twilight tapped the pencil on her lips, "Do you have any stories about Wolf?"

"Not really," Astraelle answered after a moment of silence. "Wolf died young and returned eons later. He probably has tales from everyday life and his adventures with Kyllgorr. Although, that was not his name when he was born. Kyllgorr's birth name was Zander."

"So. . . why is he called 'Kyllgorr'?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"He likes to kill and he loves gore. He became a demon when he died. I think he is an unofficial reaper," Astraelle explained.

"What is your story?” Twilight inquired.

“My Master found me when I was a young demon and took me in as his apprentice. I also played with Skaea until an incident forced us apart. After the incident, I became a valkyrie and Master Darqlon taught me everything I know. Before this mess happened, Master was training me to be a Reaper,” Astraelle disclosed. “On the day I was supposed to undergo the ritual to gain my Reaper powers, the demons attacked, and Master ordered me to protect Skaea.”

Skaea entered the conversation, “I still can’t believe that. I still can’t believe you said I was a powerful Mystic Pure. And I have the markings to back it up!”

Dash watched Onyx while he slept. She could not tell that he was millions of years old; he appeared to be in his late thirties—at least. She felt a strange vibe from him; something resonated deep within him that felt—sad and lonely. Whenever he let his guard down, whenever she watched him from afar, she saw his age poke through his façade; his usual vibrant, sapphire eyes would dim and be hollow.

Unlike Grey who would tell you how he felt when you asked, unlike Darqlon who kept everything masked under a cloud of shadow and impenetrable darkness, unlike Kyllgorr whose emotions betrayed him, and unlike Wolf who talked about everything, Onyx—to her—kept everything bottled up and played everything off so that he would not get hurt. What brought about this defense? Why did he construct this wall of laughter and secrecy?  Why—

“Why are you so close?” her thoughts were interrupted by Onyx’s voice, “You weren’t going to kiss me while I was asleep, were you?”

Before she realized, she was kneeling beside him and had her face in front of his. She withdrew herself quickly.

“I’ll pretend to be asleep, so you can kiss me,” Onyx joked.

“Oh, shut up! No one wants to kiss you!” Dash got up and stormed off.

Onyx sat up and stretched his arms and wings with a yawn, “You two ready to head off on the next leg of our adventure?”

“Wait! What are we supposed to do for food?” Skaea questioned.

Onyx picked up his knapsack, which he laid on the ground prior to taking his nap, and tossed it to Astraelle, “Food and water for two weeks.”

“What are you going to do for food, Unky?”

“I can survive a week without food or water, so I should be fine once nature is restored,” Onyx explained.

“That doesn’t sound healthy,” Twilight voiced.

“If worst comes to worst, I could munch on a demon or ten,” Onyx chuckled.

The four women exchanged a concerned glance with one another.

Onyx picked up the tent bags and bedrolls along with the portable campfire and started walking towards the hallway. “Adventure awaits!” he pumped a fist into the air.