Chapter 54 – For the Children
It took no time at all, just a simple glass of water, and Krisskkil sighed, releasing his nervous energy, "I've been taking care of a group of children for some time now." he started, "Sselkk has known for some time, but he'd usually just threatened to expose the children to the officials."
"Why is that bad?" Rainbow asked, her anger and distrust now subsided to true curiosity.
"Because if they ever found out about the children, then they'd send them back to their own planets to be handled by the system." he told them.
"But then they'd find homes and families, right?" Fluttershy asked, "Isn't that a good thing?"
"Most of the orphanage system for all four planets sucks!" Syls said, "I should know, I grew up as an orphan on Dryskis."
"And I on Sunik." Krisskkil added, "The system can be…unforgiving for those that do not fit that world's way of thinking."
"Boy." Pilit whispered and placed her left hand to her right arm, "Don't I know it."
"Also, those kids have bonded in a way that they have become family, if they are separated then that bond will break." the Sunik said with panic, "They'll just end up stuck, separated from each other, and probably never find happiness again."
"So, what do you need from us?" Twilight asked.
"Someone told the officials about the kids." Syls announced suddenly, "There's an official guard there now, what we need is a way to get the kids out safely and moved to a new place to stay."
"Why not in your garage?" Breeze asked.
"My people are…a bit confrontational right now." Krisskkil said.
"And I can't, I've got a race to worry about." Syls said, "Plus, Tris would just go gaga over them, I'd never get her away from them."
"What about our garage?" Applejack asked.
"It's hard enough taking care of Lau, Piks' family, and Pinkie Pie." Rainbow said.
"Yeah…wait…" the pink mare followed up.
"Where would they go?" Fluttershy asked.
"We're planning on moving them to a new set of ruins nearby." Krisskkil told them.
"Absolutely not." they all heard from the back. There, stern and upset stood Phis, a now awake and curious Kips in her hands, "No child should have to struggle to survive. I don't care how inconvenienced anypony is."
"You too?" Piks asked, "I thought I was the only one it was growing on!"
"I agree." Image said into the minds of the others, "Children are the future of your species, they must be kept safe."
"How many are there?" Twiggs suddenly asked, his tone stern and fierce.
"Probably eight or nine of them." Krisskkil admitted.
"And you said that there was already a guard there?" the Treeopon asked.
"We really don't have time for the interrogations, we have to save those kids." the Sunik said as his anger started to flare.
"Show me." was all Twiggs said as a response. These two words got the entire group to both calm down and turn to him in surprise.
The desert was quiet, the sun above quickly trying to scorch the ground beneath. The air itself would have been unbearable if the guard stationed there hadn't been given desert armor, a mechanical shell designed with the desert heat and night chill in mind. A cooling unit integrated throughout the suit, and thermal gear to keep the guard from freezing. At the moment, he sat there, eyeing the kids in front of him, the largest of the children, a Hylop, glaring back at him, until, "I got three of a kind." he said and placed down a set of four cards in his armored hand.
"Flush." the kid said, getting the guard to lean against the table and stare at the opposing hand in bewilderment.
The other kids simply giggled at the larger Treeopon's reaction. "You got something {snort}special under that hull kid." the adult said as he calmed down, an old saying that meant that a person had extreme luck or skill. "Care for another hand?"
The small Hylop was just about to answer with a confident grin, but they all heard a voice from the doorway behind the guard, "Excuse me." The guard turned and instantly stood up, ready to protect them from whatever threat would approach. "I was wondering if I could speak {snort} to you a moment." Twiggs stood there, his arms folded and demeanor focused.
"What the…" the guard asked, and stood upright and relaxed.
It was a bit, but the children, Krisskkil, Syls, and the ponies all waited and watched as Twiggs, off at a distance, spoke with the guard in secret, "I can't hear what they're saying." Pinkie said as she focused on them.
"I'm pretty sure that was the point." Syls said and turned to the nervous Sunik at her side. "He'll help." she reassured him.
His nerves only got worse when the two Treeopons turned back to them, appearing to have finished their talk, "Looks like your team just {snort} adopted some new recruits." Twiggs said to Syls.
This got her to look at him in shock, then to the children, and then back to the Treeopon before pointing to herself, "ME?" she asked.
"Yes, and there's a good reason {snort} for that." Twiggs said, "For one, our team is too small. We barely {snort} fit into the 'Ghost Garage' bracket of competition. Second, Krisskkil's {snort} team, as you said, is a little too preoccupied with kicking out butts to truly be {snort} of any real merit. That leaves your team {snort}. A team of Dryskians. A species of Terranuilians that is well known {snort} for their hospitality and good nature…mostly."
"How'd ya pull this off?" Applejack asked.
"But…what about other teams?" Syls asked, "What about Honor's team?"
"Honor and Chivalry are good people, don't get me {snort} wrong." Twiggs said, "But I doubt that they'll have the {snort} same impact or respect from these kids. They'd have to start {snort} from the beginning with them. You're closer to these {snort} kids than any of the rest of us." He then smiled, "It'll be like they're your brothers and {snort} sisters."
Syls stood up, her eyes shrinking in fear as she turned around, the eyes and hope of every child there staring her in the face. He was right, she had not just come the one time. Any chance she got she would meet Krisskkil out here and help him in any way she could. Bringing food, telling stories, and even teaching a few of them to play Hooves. The stories she would tell the children would wow them every time and, even though it was only a few short weeks, she had made some kind of impact on these kids. She could see it now, they looked to her, some judging her some hoping. So, she sighed and slumped her shoulders, "Ok. I'll do it." she drawled. Most of the children smiled, others let out a breath that they didn't even know they were holding. The oldest, a Treeopon, relaxed and looked as if he were about to faint from happiness. "But that means you kids have to behave, understand?" she asked sternly. The children just cheered in glee, "Oh, why can't I say no?" she asked herself.
"Because you're like me." she heard Rainbow Dash say.
"What does that mean?" Syls asked in genuine curiosity.
"Let's just say, back on my world, I'm called the Element of Loyalty for a reason." she explained and turned back to the kids. They all looked up at Syls with wondering eyes and smiles.
"Ok, the first thing I'm gonna have to do is introduce you to my partner, Tris." she said.
"This was a bad idea." Syls said to herself as she watched not just Tris and the kids run around, but the rest of her crew as well. The mechanics laughed as they lifted their tools and work so that eh children and adults could pass underneath unharmed. Her racer, the Silver Blitz, was getting a tune-up as one of the more curious children watched the master do his work, a look of amazement on the little one's face as they watched and listened to the master explain. Somehow, one of the rowdier kids had gotten a hold of a large wrench and was now being chased by its owner as the mechanic laughed in a jovial mood.
"This might be easier than you thought." Rainbow Dash said with a grin.
"You call this easy?" Syls asked.
