Spike was swimming through the seas with Skystar, following her to where she said the nearest Orichalcum mine was. He asked her, "Do you have any idea if there are any of these mines on the surface?"

Skystar shook her head, "Not that I know of. The Crystal Uprising is part of what caused the Storm King to attack us, which is why we retreated to the seas. The Orichalcum mines were above ground, but the oceans rose and flooded the mines that were still above water."

Spike nodded, "Interesting. I never knew the Crystal Uprising motivated the Storm King to attack the hippogriffs. Although I suppose the chaos did leave the kingdom vulnerable."

"Yes, it did." As they continued swimming, she asked, "Spike, if you don't mind me asking, do you have gills or did you use magic to get here?"

Spike smiled lightly, "I have gills. My grandfather on my father's side was a sea dragon, so my father and I were both born with gills. My daughter Aurora has gills too. For my crew, other than Penelope, I gave them gills using the magic of my Orichalcum Eye."

"I bet you're very proud to be a father. My mother told me my father suffered three heart attacks when she told him she was pregnant, but it was the happiest day of his life."

Spike smiled, "Yes, I was overjoyed to hear Ember was pregnant. Terrified, but overjoyed. And when Aurora had her growth spurt, it was certainly an interesting experience." When Skystar mentioned her father having three heart attacks when he found out her mother was pregnant, he chuckled, "Trust me, I felt like I was going to have a heart attack when I learned Ember was pregnant."

Skystar giggled, "Sounds like being a parent is a fun but scary experience."

Spike nodded, "Yes, yes, it is. How much farther until the mine?"

"Right up ahead, not much farther."

Spike nodded, but then noticed his necklace was glowing, and said, "Just a minute, I've got a call." before answering the crystal, "Lucy, what's up?" when she showed him a positive pregnancy test, his eyes widened, "Ah shit, I should have known when that single night broke your heat cycle..."

Lucy nodded, "Yeah, I know you're busy, but I hope you'll be home soon."

"I'll do my best to get home as soon as I can, we're still looking for the Orichalcum mine."

Lucy smiled, "Thanks dear, I hope you find what you're looking for." before ending the communication.

Spike sighed, "Well, looks like I'm having another kid."

Skystar giggled, "Ironic when we were just talking about kids. Maybe we jinxed it."

Spike rolled his eyes, "Anyway, let's get to the mines." before continuing to swim to the nearest mine.

As they made their way into the mine, Skystar stopped Spike for a moment, telling him, "Wait... we're not alone in here. There's something else in the mines, but it's not a person."

Spike nodded, "My heat pits are telling me the same thing. And there's a lot of them. I can't fire my pistol hand underwater, the mechanism won't work properly. And it goes without saying that my flame breath won't do shit."

Skystar thought for a moment, before saying, "Let's get out of here, it's probably a tribe of Sahagin. The guards warned me of them when I was little. I always thought it was just a story to scare me into staying in the castle, but when I saw them with my own eyes, I was terrified of them."

"I've heard rumors about them, savage creatures that hunt anything that moves."

Skystar nodded, "Yeah, let's get out of here before they-" before hearing growling, "Oh crap..."

Spike pushed Skystar out of the path of a Sahagin hunter as it sped out of the mine. The crocodile-like creature slashed at Spike's armor, leaving a scar, bleeding lightly. The blood attracted more of them, and he said, "Skystar, get out of here! I've fought worse creatures than these freaks! Get my crew and some of your guards!"

Skystar screamed as Spike pushed her out of the way, and when Spike told her to leave she stuttered, "I-I can't! You'll get yourself killed before I get back!"

"Just do it!" before crunching down on a Sahagin's neck, showing Skystar that he was more than capable of holding his own.

"O-Ok! I'll go het help, just promise me you'll be careful!" before swimming back towards the city.

Fifteen minutes later...

Morgan, Penelope, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash were swimming towards the mine to help Spike, followed by about ten of Queen Novo's guards. But by the time they got there, they only saw Spike and scattered bodies of Sahagin. Spike was panting, and while his wounds weren't severe, it was obvious that he needed medical attention.

The captain of the guards was shocked, "My God... he slaughtered them in such a short time... I've never seen such carnage..."

Spike worked out words as he panted, "I went into a frenzy state. The tribe's leader threatened to rape Skystar after they killed me, and I sort of lost it."

Rainbow Dash remembered the last time she saw Spike in a frenzy state, and it wasn't a memory she liked thinking about. She didn't blame him though, the Sahagin did threaten to rape Skystar, and she said, "I think that's reason enough to get angry, don't you?" She continued as she looked to the guards, "If we had captured him, he would have been executed, wouldn't he?"

The guards nodded, and the captain said, "That is true, it would have been reason enough to warrant execution. Still, it looks like there was a shark attack here. No offense." saying to Penelope.

Penelope nodded, "None taken, this is unlike anything I've seen. But that's beside the point, let's get Spike some medical attention. Morgan and I will explore the mines with a few more guards, just in case there's more of these things."

The guards nodded and swam into the mines with Penelope and Morgan, while Twilight and Rainbow Dash took Spike back to Seaquestria and got him to the infirmary in the castle. Skystar came in and saw Spike's wounds, rushing over to him, "Spike! Are you ok!? I knew I shouldn't have let you face them alone!"

Spike smiled, "Don't worry, I'm fine, nothing serious. I got angry with them, and it's probably best that you weren't there to see me tear them apart." before sitting up and kissing her cheek. "Let me get some rest, the guards and some of my crew are in the mines to clear out any remaining Sahagin and collect some Orichalcum Stones."

Queen Novo entered the room and said, "Thank you for what you did Spike. My guards told me what happened, I'm thankful for you protecting my daughter. Take as much time as you need to heal."

"Thank you, your majesty, that's kind of you. Once we have the stones and my wounds have healed, we'll be returning to the surface. I'll come visit you every once in a while, for Skystar to be close to her mother, I'll gladly return."

And so, Spike has found the Orichalcum Mine, but it was filled with Sahagin. He was able to hold his own against them, slaughtering them in a frenzy state after one of them threatened to rape Skystar. When his wounds heal, he and his crew will be returning to the surface, bringing Skystar with them. And not only that, but Lucy is also pregnant, giving Spike another child to get ready for. What adventures await Spike and his crew, and how many new harem members await him?

Find Out Next Time!

Next Chapter: Returning to the Surface Estimated time remaining: 31 Minutes