//------------------------------//
// Chapter 9 
// Story: MLP: The Last Mage 
// by WorldWalker128 
//------------------------------//

To those of you that recall the secret ending from Super Filly Adventure and got freaked, this may drudge up some bad memories for you. For those of you that didn't...


Chapter 9


Bandages still around my hands I reached into the water barrel and lifted my wand from it. I had followed Melinda's intrusion of waiting twenty four hours, and now here was my finished product. Water ran down the slender ivory shaft as well as my bandaged hands and dripped back into the barrel.
"Art!" I said, pleased with the outcome. The entire thing (with the exception of the silver, of course) was a creamy green color. Reminds me of mint ice cream. I frowned. Darn it! Now I want ice cream! But sadly, that was something I'd likely not get until I returned to Earth. If I ever do. Today was the day I'd also be setting out for Everfree. Rumors had been coming in that the Dragons were on the move from all over and it was making ponies (and myself) edgy. I could not afford to put off this trip any longer. I dried the wand on my shirt and headed back to my room to pack.
"You're leaving?" Trixie asked. She was still lazing on the big round bed. 
"Yep. I made the wand and I passed Celestia's tests, now I need to go find Thanatos."
"What if he's dead? Or if he doesn't want to help?" I sighed.
"If he's dead, then I'll give him a Human funeral and bury his remains. If he's alive and doesn't want to help..." I didn't have an answer to that question. I was placing my hope on that he would want to help and together with Celestia and Luna's help we'd banish the Dragons into a war zone of Earth where they'd be wiped out. Or, at least I hoped that was where they'd end up.
"Then what?" Trixie prodded.
"Then I don't know. I guess I'll come back and deal with Drahngov as best I can."
"Not that I really care much outside of being changed back by Thanatos, but don't do anything stupid." I laughed.
"Are you kidding? Doing something stupid seems to be what I do best around here: I killed a Dragon and in the process almost killed myself, leaped in front of another trying to roast alive a group of ponies, I threatened said Dragon, and then took your older princess hostage to succeed in a test. Yesterday I ran the risk of being killed to make this-" I twirled the wand between my fingers. "and now I'm going to go into a forest that has the reputation of being the most dangerous place in all of Equestria!" I gave her a crazed grin.
"That's my point: sooner or later your luck is going to run out. When it does you're probably going to meet a rather gruesome fate." I could not disagree. Especially after hearing what Veedar had said. But if it was my fate to die horribly, I wasn't going to risk any of the friends I'd made by taking them along. This wand should be enough. The hot feeling is unpleasant, but the boost, I think, is well worth it.
"Thanks for your concern, Trixie. If I should not come back, take care of yourself."
"I always have."

I gathered my things up and headed first to the kitchen to gather a bit of food from it, and then to the throne room to bid Celestia and Luna farewell. Luna would be sleeping right now, but I could still leave the note that I'd written before going ot bed last night for her. I suppose that I probably should still be sleeping too, but I had been too excited to sleep properly last night, so I finally gave up and got up.
When I arrived at the throne room doors the two guards watched my every move suspiciously. Their expressions never changed, but there was a fierceness behind their eyes that had not been there a few days ago. I pretended to ignore it and asked if I could enter. One of them briskly replied that she was busy with an important guest. I nodded, understanding. Really, with all the rumors flying around I wasn't surprised. It was for this possibility that I had written a second letter to Celestia telling her that I appreciated her hospitality and generosity and that I would, if I was able, return with all the haste that my people possessed regardless of the outcome of my journey to Everfree and give a full account of it myself. I asked the guards if they would be willing to deliver the two letters to the princess when she became available. Still staring at me with that unpleasant look, the one on the right accepted them. I thanked them and then went to Twilight's room to ask her for a favor before I left. I needed to get to Everfree with all possible haste, which meant teleportation. I didn't want to risk her life by taking her with me when Equestria would likely need the help of all its Unicorns soon enough if Drahngov really did decide to attack. But more importantly than that, she was my friend, and I didn't want her to die with me if to die really was my fate.
Of course, Twilight saw right through me.
"I've been in Everfree forest before on several occasions, and I've got a friend that lives there too who might be able to help. There's no way I'm letting you go in there alone." I didn't bother trying to argue with her. I'd tried arguing with girls that had their mind set on something before, and it rarely, if ever worked. Instead I grinned like an idiot.
"I should have known better than to try leaving you behind. Alright then, when can you be ready?"
"Within this minute." Twilight gathered up her things with her magic, levitated them into a bag, and then levitated the bag onto her back like Melinda had carried her own things. "Could you fasten the straps for me?" I nodded and crouched down. At first I couldn't see them and had to feel around a bit. Twilight started giggling. "Watch it, I'm ticklish!"
"Oops! Sorry, about that." After much more giggling I finally found both straps and pulled them together. "There we go! Tight enough?" She rolled her shoulders and cantered in place.
"Yeah, this should be fine."
"I left two notes for the princesses telling them thanks because Celestia was busy, but if you want to say goodbye I don't mind waiting a little longer." Twilight shook her head.
"I thought you might try to leave today even with your hands still hurting, so I said my farewells earlier while you were still sleeping. We can go now if you like."
"If it's really okay with you, I'm ready." She nodded and closed her eyes. Recalling the white flash last time we teleported, I did the same and waited.

When I opened them again we were back in Twilight's library. It was a mess.
"What the!?" I said, seeing piles of books stacked haphazardly. Spike was nowhere to be seen, though I could here some noise coming from one of the other rooms and from outside as well.
"SpiiiIIIKE!!" Twilight yelled. She looked rather peeved. The noise inside stopped and Spike ran into the room dragging a large burlap bag.
"Oh! Twilight! Good, you're both back! Listen, I could really use your help in packing! An adult Dragon came here earlier this morning and-"
"What in the HECK do you think you're doing with my books?!" Twilight interrupted, legs quivering.
"Oh, this?" he made a motion with his arms that encompassed the library. "I'm preparing to evacuate them to Applejack's storm cellar, of course! I didn't think you wanted them to be burnt to ashes when Drahngov's flock gets here!" Me and Twilight shared a look, then nodded. We had to find Thanatos now.
"Keep it up, Spike!" Twilight said before she made a run for her door. I followed.
"Hey wait! I could use a little he-" The door shut behind us and we kept running. All around us ponies were running from one place to another. Some seemed to be packing up belongings, but most just seemed to be panicking.
"Are you sure you don't want to pack up your things first? You're faster than I am on foot. You could probably finish up before I made my way to Everfree."
"You're not ditching me that easily, Jacob. Besides, I'm not heading for Everfree first. We're going to Fluttershy's place. She has a way with animals that I haven't seen any other pony imitate. If we get into a bind she might be able to convince them to leave us alone."
"Sounds good. Lead the way!"

I followed her as best I could, but in the end all I did was slow her down. Drat these two legs! I have a longer stride, but when these ponies run, they really run! Half an hour later we arrived at a small house surrounded by animals of all kinds from the small and timid bunny rabbit to the huge and intimidating grizzly bear.
"Woah!" I slid to a stop when I saw the bear. The bear looked up from the bowl of berries it was munching on and looked at me for a few seconds, then turned back to its food.
"If you do not try to take his food then he will not bother you." The yellow cream Pegasus said from her house's porch. She too was surrounded by animals.
"Fluttershy, we need your help! Jacob and I are going to look for an Alicorn in the Everfree forest but neither of us are particularly good with animals. Could you come along with us?" Flutter shy looked at the numerous small creatures around her.
"Oh no, I just couldn't! These poor things have been chased out of their homes by hunting Dragons from all over! I couldn't just leave them here by themselves!"
"But Fluttershy, if we can get this Alicorn to help us then we can drive the Dragons away and the animals can return."
"Besides that, Miss Fluttershy," I added. "The Dragons are going to attack here soon. If we don't find him then not only will these animals be displaced, but so will the citizens of Ponyville, and you as well, provided the Dragons don't kill or eat everybody." Fluttershy looked at her animals again, then looked at us.
"I- I-" she took a breath. "Okay. I'll go with you." Twilight and I smiled and thanked her. Fluttershy said goodbye to all of her animal friends (which took about an hour) and then together we followed the treeline to a path that led into the woods.
"If we follow this path then we should eventually come to Zecora's place."
"Who's Zecora?" I asked Twilight.
"Zecora is a medicine Zebra from another country. She's a bit different, and she speaks in rhyme, but she also knows these woods really well. If anyone might know if Thanatos is still alive or where to find his remains, it'd be her."
We walked for what felt like forever, always staying on the path. While we walked I got a prickly feeling on the back of my neck. It was the same feeling I got when Luna had been watching me that one night, only this one, rather than the simple 'you're being watched' feeling, it was...I don't know, malevolent. I looked over my shoulder every time I got this feeling, but always there was nothing but a wall of trees and various smaller plants. The sixth time I did it Twilight noticed and stopped.
"What is it?" I scanned the plants.
"I'm not sure, but I think we're being watched and followed. Whoever it is either doesn't want us here, or intends us harm." Fluttershy gulped and stepped closer to us, her gaze darting from one place to another. Twilight looked around too, but saw no more than I did.
"It's probably just your imagination, Jacob. Almost nothing ever steps onto this path except for us because Zecora splashes a potion onto it once a week to repel animals."
"Yeah, maybe." I allowed. Maybe, but I still felt a burning gaze on my back as soon as we faced forward again and started walking. While we walked I brought my backpack around to my front and took my wand out of it, then replaced the bag on my back again.
This time before I looked back I waited a good four minutes before I spun around with my wand upraised and my empty hand ready. There beside a large tree was a pair of red eyes gazing at me from a gaunt face. I gasped and whoever or whatever it was gave me a toothy grin before pulling its head back behind the tree again. This time Twilight and Fluttershy heard the foliage shift after my gasp and whirled too.
"What was it?" Twilgiht asked quietly while Flutterly quivered. My eyes narrowed.
"I'm not sure, but its eyes were red, and it grinned at me the same way that Drahngov grinned at Celestia that night at the party. Whoever, or whatever that thing was, it's a predator." We said nothing after that for a short while. During all this time our eyes scanned the forest around us. But whoever the red eyes belonged to never came back, and neither did the 'being watched' feeling. "I think it's gone." I said softly.
"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked, still looking around.
"Yeah. I don't feel anything watching me anymore." Twilight gave me a funny look.
"Feel anything watching you?"
"Some of us Humans have a sort of sixth-sense that allow us to know when someone is watching us. Not every Human does, but a good portion of our population has it."
"Fascinating!" Twilight said, the look of an eager scholar covering her face. "Hey, when all this is over, do you think I could study you for awhile?" I laughed and all the sounds in the forest because dead quiet, as if my laughter was something alien. Perhaps it was.
"Sure, Twilight, but for now let's go ask Zecora if she's seen any Alicorns out here."
Oddly enough, though I never felt the eyes on my back again the forest did not become noisy again. If anything, it became even more quiet as the sun began to go down. A fog swirled around our feet that flowed out from the trees. This did not bother me, as I had gone camping with some of my school friends back when I was still a kid. The places we normally went camping were near a creek for easy access to fresh water, so it became foggy every night that we camped. What did bother me was that the fog seemed to remain clear in front of us, but slowing filled in behind us like a wall of white. This is a place of magic, so it's probably nothing to worry about. Sure, the magic is chaotic, but the fog filling in behind us could simply be a result of the breeze we're creating pulling it along. Though logical, this reasoning did little to put my mind at ease. I just keep picturing those eyes watching me! The image of the creature flashed through my mind again and I shivered. They weren't just red, they glowed! I must wonder if that thing was one of those 'Twisted Ones' that Veedar mentioned.
"Well, here we are!" Twilight said happily. "It's been awhile since I've visited her, I wonder how she's doing?"
"Let's find out. Shall I knock, or will you?"
"I'll knock. You just stand there and keep Fluttershy company. " I nodded and turned to ask Fluttershy how she was doing. She jumped when I spoke her name, then laughed nervously and looked embarrassed. 
"Sorry, I'm not used to being in here."
"But don't most of your animal-friends live in here?" She shook her head.
"Most of them live in the meadows nearby. It's only the larger creatures like the bear you saw that are from the forests."
"What other kinds of creatures are there in here that come visit you?"
"Oh, I've seen a bobcat, several types of squirrels, a few chipmunks, a Jackalope, a few bats and birds, and one time a Manticore."
I stared at her. She said 'Manticore' with such a calm voice you'd have thought she was talking about a new pet dog. She tiled her head to one side, wondering at my reaction. Then I recalled that she'd also said 'Jackalope', which I had thought to be a fake creature.
"What's a Jackalope look like?"
"It looks like a wild hare, but it has a small version of a deer's antlers on its head between its ears." She tapped herself on the top of her head for visual effect.
"Ah. Just making sure."
"Do you have Jackalopes in your world too?" I shook my head.
"We have stories of them, but there aren't any actual pictures of them except what were made on a- machine." I almost said 'computer', but knew that she'd have no idea what I was talking about.
"What about Manticores? Do you have those too?"
"Only in fictional books. But then again, alot of what I've seen in your world I would have called fiction two months ago, so I suppose they could have existed at one time."
"That's strange..." Twilight said.I looked away from Fluttershy.
"What's strange?"
"There's a light burning in her house, and I can see movement, but she's not answering the door."
"Maybe she doesn't want any company?" Fluttershy suggested.
"Maybe, but normally even when she's busy she at least looks out the window- aack!" As she spoke a striped face popped up behind the window. This face also had red colored eyes. What should have been the whites were blacker than pitch.
"What the-?!" I exclaimed. Fluttershy gasped.
"Twilight Sparkle, it is you. And others I see, numbering two. You should leave here now, while you still may, before all gone is the light of day." She blinked.
"Zecora!" Twilight exclaimed. "What's happened to you?! Your eyes-"
"Twilight! Her eyes look exactly like the ones I saw back on the path! Whatever that thing was, she's one of them too!" I said, my face becoming suspicious and wary. I quickly looked around the clearing that Zecora's hut stood in. We still were alone, but I was becoming anxious as the light grew dimmer. It would not be completely night for a few more hours, but it would be dark in the forest long before then. Twilight, though unnerved by Zecora, still managed to keep her voice steady.
"Zecora, what's wrong? Are you sick? You look..." Twilight searched for a polite word, but I got the feeling that there wouldn't be one and finished her sentence for her.
"Scary. You look scary." Then I wished I hadn't spoken as Zecora turned her red and black gaze on me.
"No pony are you, which is curious. Are my eyes really so mysterious?" She smiled at me. Thankfully, her teeth were flat like every other pony that I had met, or I might have freaked. The feeling of being watched had returned, though I couldn't see anything when I looked around. Her smile was not cruel like the other creature's had been, but it did little to relieve my tension. "You should all go, before you are trapped. For when the night falls, my wards shall be snapped!"
"Zecora, we will leave, but tell us first, have you ever seen an Alicorn during your stay here?" Zecora raised an eyebrow.
"An Alicorn here, in forest of Everfree? Why, dear Twilight, do you ask this of me?"
"Because my two-legged friend needs to speak to him. We need his help to fight the Dragons."
"Dragons are strong, yes this is true, but they are far away. More danger awaits you here however, if you should choose to stay." Zecora keeps trying to get us to leave. What is it that's out here? Besides the un-described Twisted Ones, anyway. Two ways to find that out, and the one method I'd prefer not to use.
"Zecora." I said, walking closer to the hut's door where she stood behind her door. "Who or what are the Twisted Ones?" Zecora flinched and made a sound in her throat and backed away from the door. Twilight gave both Zecora and me a puzzled look. My face was very serious, but Zecora looked both afraid and angry.
"Why do you name those beings here?! Are you trying to draw them near?" Her eyes narrowed at me.
"Who are they?" I repeated. "I was told by an eyeless seer that they would kill me if I went into this forest. What are they?" Zecora came back to the door and looked at Twilight.
"Twilight, this being is a fool for tempting fate, lead him out, before his life abates." Her rhyming was getting on what little nerves I had left. The feeling of being watched had grown stronger. Controlling myself and my voice, I asked her to answer with a simple yes or no if she had seen an Alicorn or not. Her answer in short was a yes, but in total was confusing. "An Alicorn he once was, but is no more, too much pain and time alone he has had to endure."
"Where can I find him? I need to speak to him." Zecora laughed. There was no humor in it.
"That is something you cannot do, for remain too long, and he shall come for you."
"So all I need to do is wait and he'll show up. Fine. Then I shall wait." I turned away from Zecora and walked a few paces away from her hut. I pointed my empty hand at a few dead branches still attached to trees and willed them to break and come to rest in a pile at my feet. Once this was done I arranged them like a teepee and took my lighter out of my pocket. Gathering a few fistfuls of leaves from the ground I built a fire and sat down in front of it, keeping watch on the forest ahead of me. I placed my wand in my lap, laced my fingers together and rested my head on top. Fluttershy came over by the fire and also sat down near it. Zecora was not done trying to convince us to leave, however. She continued talking to Twilight Sparkle, whom continued trying to find out why Zecora's eyes had gone strange. Eventually she got an answer and I began listening again.
"Ancient blood runs strong in me, just as sap does in these old trees. Long ago this forest was changed, and ancestors of mine became deranged. Attacked their neighbors and their kin, without mercy they committed much of this sin. Wild magic stained their souls, and in their minds created holes. They fought for blood, and for fun, it overjoyed them to watch their prey run! But then two came from lands unknown, and salvation to us all was shown. They led them back inside these woods, and trapped them in ancient neighborhoods. Now their homes are all long gone, ever living though, they go on. They hunt the foolish, those whom come on this night, and they overwhelm, no matter how they fight." Twilight later told me that when she said that last line that she looked at me. I wasn't surprised. "Though rarely known of by that name, their title still fits the same: They are the Bloody Hooves, and murder is their game." The vegetation shuffled around in several places, and for half a moment I could have sworn I saw a single red eye peeking out from behind some thick ferns.
"But what about the Alicorn?" Twilight pressed. "How has he stayed alive all this time with these crazed ponies running around?"
"She never said that he did, Twilight." Twilight looked at me as I turned my head around to once more look at Zecora. "He's one of them now, isn't he? That's why he'd come for us. He's seeking prey too." Zecora nodded and Twilight gasped. "Is there any chance of him coming back to his senses?" Zecora slowly shook her head.
"Know this, I do not. It is only their blood that I've got."
"Bloody Hooves? Does that mean that they're ponies?"
"One they were, but no more. Now they lust for blood and gore."
"So until the sun sets they'll leave us alone?" I asked. Zecora nodded. An idea had begun to form in my mind. Veedar said that they'd kill me if I entered the forest. But if I could draw them through the Stone Arch Gateway and into my world, and then close it, their numbers, however many of them there were in these woods would be limited and I could re-enter when, or if I could make Thanatos remember who he was after the sun rose here again. If I couldn't wake him up, then at the very least I'd be able to put him out of his misery. Or try to. I had two horns in my wand, which would probably balance out the hot vs cold of Luna's horn. But will that be enough for me to take Thanatos head-on? Probably not. But it won't matter if the lesser Twisted Ones swarm us first. I stood up from the fire. Fluttershy watched me as I approached the wall of trees and raised my wand. Which way to the gate? I felt the familiar tug. Straight ahead.
"Twilight." I asked, looking up at the sky. "How long do you think it will be before it's dark enough in here to imitate nightfall?" Twilight stopped speaking to Zecora and looked up and then around us.
"I'd estimate maybe...forty minutes. Outside the woods maybe an hour. If we're going to leave, we should do so now." I looked to where I thought I had seen the red eye. No movement, no staring eye. 
"My survival instinct is insisting that we should leave, but if Zecora meant that they hunt specifically on 'this night' we might not get a chance to look for Thanatos again until this day next year. And we can't afford to wait that long. I have an idea that might work as far as us surviving goes, but I need to know if you and Fluttershy are willing to stay with me after nightfall. If you aren't, then I won't hold it against you for being smart, but I'm staying either way."
"Another dumb idea?"
"Another risky idea. If this doesn't pan out we could all die."
"What did you have in mind?"

A few minutes later we were running through the woods towards the Stone Arch Gateway. This deep in the woods my longer legs gave me the advantage because I could easily jump over the higher roots whereas Twililght and Fluttershy had to go around them. Now the 'being watched' feeling was constant and from time to time several pairs of red eyes ran along with us in the trees. Once the same pony that I'd seen back on the path leaped across our beeline and flashed me the grin again. I bared my teeth at him (her?) and kept running.
"Was that one of the Bl-Bl-" Fluttershy either couldn't get the words out, or didn't want to.
"Yeah, I think it was, Fluttershy. They're following us." Fluttershy looked behind us, eeped, and then looked around us and eeped again and increased her pace. I tripped over a low-hanging vine and nearly fell. Twilight caught me with her magic and steadied me. I thanked her, and then returned to my former running rate.
It was almost too dark to see when we reached the clearing and what I saw before the sealed doors shocked and frightened me so much I forgot about my companions and they crashed into me. Together we fell to the grass in a pile. There, standing taller than myself stood a black-hide Alicorn with burning red eyes. His hooves were cloven like two claws. He was very muscular. So much so that he looked like a war horse from the ancient (Earth) world. The hair on his hide was short and looked spiny rather than like fuzz. His mane and tail were short and measured only five inches and was ill-tended as if it has been clipped by teeth or by a Human child the first time they cut their hair. His mouth was slightly open and revealed fangs rather than teeth. 
But even with the noise we made he ignored us. He was too busy staring at the stone door as if expecting someone to come through it.
"What's he doing?" Fluttershy whispered.
"I don't know, Fluttershy." Twilight replied.
"He looks sad!" Fluttershy said.
"Maybe he does, but his friends don't!" I said as the Bloody Hooves that had been following us joined us in the clearing. All of them were grinning now as they formed a circle around us. Some of them were missing teeth, and one was missing an eye, which was probably the one that watched us at Zecora's home. We all stood to our feet, and prepared to defend ourselves. My plan might still work, but we'd have to get rid of the six that had followed is first before we could have any hope of dealing with Thanatos. I just prayed that he wouldn't decide to join in the 'fun'. I pulled my lighter out of my pocket while catching my breath.
"We smell the yellow one's fear! So sweet!" One of them said in a scratchy voice.
"Never seen a two-leg before! He's a big one!" Another said.
"Maybe taller, but not as much meat." This one stuck out a tongue.
"But food comes later, first comes fun!!" This one's voice sounded like it had been created in G-Major.
Two of the six ran at us first. They were fast. Really fast. As in Rainbow-Dash-diving-at-the-ground fast! Where once they had stood twenty feet away they now stood in front of us in less than two seconds. Twilight brought up a barrier around us, which stopped one, but the second leaped over it and tackled me mouth first. I instinctively raised an arm to block its assault and its fangs sank into my flesh.
"AAAgghh!" I screamed as it began to wrench its head back and forth. Blood poured from my new injury. Unfortunately when it bit me I dropped the lighter, so I used the wand as a bludgeoning weapon to no visible effect. Then two more ran at us from outside the barrier.  These two both made it over and attacked, but I didn't pay them any mind at first. I gripped the wand tightly in my free arm and  stabbed it into my aggressor's right eye. It made no sound of pain, but the grip it had on my arm loosened. Seizing its moment of weakness I stabbed my now-dirty wand into its other eye and willed a spike of earth to skewer my enemy. It did not skewer him, but it did knock it up into the air and break a few ribs. My arm was pulled upward along with my enemy's mouth, which made it hurt even more. Tears leaked from the corners of my eyes which shook my concentration but I still managed just enough to free my arm. My blood now flowed freely and dripped very frequently from my fingertips. I turned to see how Twilight and Fluttershy were fairing. Twilight was struggling, but surprisingly it was Fluttershy that was holding her own against her enemy, and even beating it back. Like a kung-foo pony she punched, kicked, and even performed an over-the-shoulder throw. I stared, mouth agape. You have got to be kidding.Fluttershy  of all ponies is a living weapon?! My moment of shock was quickly over when the remaining three came at us. Or rather, at me. I turned to face them as they joined us inside the barrier. One of them was bigger than the others and attacked me head-on. The other two circled around from either side. I pointed my wand at the big one out front and thought about tree roots whipping up from the ground and wrapping around his legs. One did and he fell to the ground. The BH of my left bit into my leg right above the knee, and the other one jumped and threw itself into my chest and knocked me to the ground. The one on my leg tore loose, taking a chunk of my leg with its mouth and made a beeline for my throat. I punched it in the face with my hurt arm and nearly screamed again. It didn't stop it but it missed and slammed into the dirt instead. The one on the right was suddenly crashed into by the BH that had been trying to kill Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy had snapped its neck and Twilight threw it into him with her magic. Seeing the barrier was pointless now, she dropped it. In the meantime the BH that had crashed into the now-dispelled barrier stood up and jumped onto Fluttershy's back and bit at her neck. Twilight hurried to assist her while I still wrestled with mine. I punched it again, this time with my other arm. It laughed.
"This is the most fun we've had in ages! Even if you defeat us, our brothers and sisters will come for our bodies and in time we shall walk again! You cannot kill us!"
"No? I take it you've never had your head blown apart." I stabbed my wand into its mouth and focused on the mental image of the blood in its head boiling. Within seconds its head did indeed explode. Blood, bone fragments and other gore splattered all over me and I wretched a few times before finally turning on my side and vomiting.
The BH attacking Fluttershy managed to get in a bite, but it apparently wasn't bad because Fluttershy was still on her feet. Twilight was hitting the creature repeatedly anywhere that she could, and the BH began clawing Fluttershy in retaliation. Unable to get loose, Fluttershy ran across the open area and threw both herself and the BH into a tree trunk. There was an audible snap and the BH let go and slumped to the ground. Broken neck. Good riddance! I thought as Fluttershy walked back over to Twilight, not saying a word. Fluttershy was shaking all over. She slowly turned her head to look at Twilight, and began to cry. I didn't hold it against her. Fluttershy was a gentle soul, and killing a being that resembled her own kind must have been hard. I myself had no problem with it other than the gory mess I'd made, but that was because I saw them as monsters and not people/ponies.
"Thank you for saving me, Fluttershy." I said, pain pulsing through my left leg and left arm. It was not a good night for the left side of my body. " My body had also started to quiver and I began to feel weak. Blood loss is starting to get to me. I'd better heal up my leg at the very least. With effort I managed to sit up and placed my injured arm over the bleeding hole where the meat was torn away and tried to concentrate. 
Thankfully, Thanatos was still ignoring us and after a fifteen seconds my leg stopped bleeding and began to heal. It was slow and tiring work, and this was made worse by my already feeling weak. I felt about ready to fall over when Twilight came to me and offered her help. I gratefully accepted and rested while she finished my leg. When we were done I tried to stand and found that I could not, so I laid back down. 
"Do you want me to heal your arm as well?" Twilight asked. I rocked my head from one side to the other. I rocked my head.
"Save your energy, Twilight. We may have need of it again soon."
"Are you okay?" I nodded.
"Just tired. If I could sleep for a few hours I'd be right as rain."
"But we probably don't have that long!"
"I know, I know. I'm sorry for dragging you two into this." I rubbed my face with my wand-hand. My wand I left on the ground. Now I can't even stand to open the way."
"You can't, but I can." Twilight said, turning towards the gateway.
"Twilight, no. He might attack you."
"And if I don't, more Bloody Hooves are going to attack us. There's no other way."
"Why not just teleport us out?"
"I considered that when the Bloody Hooves first attacked us. I couldn't do it. The magic here is too wild. I could still try, but we might end up fused together, and that would not be pleasant. Trust me, we're stuck here unless we can get to your world."
"Just...be careful. At the first sign he tries anything, I want you and Fluttershy to run. Don't worry about me, and don't-" Both girls raised a hoof to object. "don't argue with me. I'd only slow you down and get you killed." Fluttershy smiled and Twilight rolled her eyes.
"We're not going to leave you, Jacob Lighthand. You risked your life for us, now we are going to return the favor."
"You're the bravest beings I know, girls, but you already did just by following me out here in the first place when Zecora warned us over and over to leave."
"Jacob...Lighthand...?" A deep hollow voice asked. We turned to look at the voice. It was Thanatos. "Light...hand..." Slowly, he turned away from the gateway. "Light...hand?" his eyes were bad enough when they were looking away, but to have him look me in the eye made me want to either snuggle under a blanket or lay a hand on his shoulder. He gave off this feeling of emptiness and sorrow and hate. But his hate was not aimed at us. "Lighthand..." A single tear dripped from one eye. Thanatos blinked and took one step toward us. Twilight and Flutterhsy both turned their bodies to face him and bent their knees and lowered their heads as if expecting an attack. 
"Yes, I am Jacob Lighthand." I said from the ground.
"Be quiet, Jacob! Don't encourage it!" Thanatos took another step and sniffed the air.
"Blood?" He said slowly.
"We were attacked."
"Jacob!" I struggled, and eventually sat up.
"Thanatos, the Dragons are massing again and could attack us any day now. Equestria needs you."
"Passage was shut..." Thanatos turned his head towards the gateway.
"Shut, but not locked. Mace left a way for me to cross over."
"Mace...Oh, MACE!!!" Thanatos fell forward onto his front knees and gored the ground with his horn. Fluttershy leaned close to my ear.
"I think he's insane, Jacob." Fluttershy whispered. Her voice was pitying. I looked at her and nodded. I agreed. Thanatos turned away from us for a moment. When he turned back again I suddenly felt afraid of him all over again. He was baring his teeth at us, and not in a smile.
"You not harm him..."
"Ladies, I think we should open that gateway now." I said. Looking nervously at the ancient Alicorn, Twilight trotted around Thanatos, giving him a wide berth. Thanatos ignored her, his eyes focused on where myself and Fluttershy were.
"How do I open it?"
"Screw your horn into the hole, then withdraw without turning back." Thanatos snorted, his eyes glowing brighter. He hoofed the ground like a bull.
"You not harm him!" He said again, and his wings extended. The feathers were dirty and some were missing, but they still looked functional.
The Gateway opened and Twilight ran back over to me. With Fluttershy's help, they grabbed my arms and dragged me towards the daylight waiting on the other side.
"I will not fail again!!!" Thanatos gave chase.

__ __ __ __ __

"And this is the place?" Jacob's father asked asked the cab driver as his cab rolled to a stop.
"Yes, this is it. Not much to look at, is it?"
"Would you mind waiting here for us? We're going out there to have a look around." The driver nodded.
"Take all the time you need."
Mr. And Mrs. Lighthand got out of the cab and began walking along a dirt path until they reached an almost-dry riverbed. There in the soft earth they found some footprints, but they could have been anyone's. Still, it gave them a sense of hope, and they followed the river to the left. Jacob's father didn't know why he chose that way over going to the right, but it just felt like he should. After twenty minutes of finding no other sign of life except a few birds and small animals, Mr. Lighthand began to wonder if they shouldn't have gone the other way after all. He stopped looked around. In the distance he could see the taxicab still waiting for them by the side of the road, and the road itself, but there wasn't much else here at all. No buildings, no trees, nothing except a few bushes, and a pile of stones further along.
"Honey, let's try the other way. There's nothing here." He said, sighing.
"Let's at least go to those stones first, dear. Maybe he left something for us there." He doubted it, but Mr. Lighthand supposed it was possible.
"Alright." So they walked to the pile of stones and examined it. Rocks, rocks, and more- hey wait a minute, what's this? Mr. Lighthand reached down and ran his finger of a mark carved into one of the stones. I know this mark! This is a tattoo my father had. But what's it doing here? It can't be... It occurred to him for the first time in years that there might have been some truth to the old stories his father used to tell him before bed. Of course the magic part was still probably rubbish, but this at least meant that his family had been here before.
"What'd you find, honey?" his wife asked.
"It's-" Suddenly the stones began to glow and both of them stumbled back away a few steps from it.
"What the hell?!" Jacob's father exclaimed. Before his eyes the stones lifted off the ground and placed themselves together in a way that made them look like a doorway. Then a picture of light formed in the middle that looked like a door.
Jacob's father reached out a hand and tried to touch it, but his hand passed through. Suddenly the doors swung outward as if someone had slammed into them with a battering ram and two odd colored ponies dragging a Human between them.
"Home sweet home!" The Human said sarcastically. I know that voice!
"Jacob! It's you!" His father exclaimed, overjoyed.
"Jacob?!" His mother echoed. Both parents ran to their child and took them from the pony-things.
"Mom? Dad?!" Jacbo turned his head "What are you doing- Oh no! You've got to run! Run away, he's still coming!!!"
"Who's coming, Jacob?" His mother asked.
"Thanatos! He's right behind-"
Suddenly a creature that made them think of a Demon also followed their son through the stone archway. It stopped and snorted and reared when it sighted the two new figures.
"DIE!" It shouted, waving its hoofed legs about while Mrs. Lighthand screamed.

__ __ __ __ __

Trixie carefully edged along the marble wall, taking care to be as quiet as possible. Stealing the Unicorn horn from the city crypt had been easy enough as no one had been guarding it. After all, what did the deceased have worth stealing? It had taken her a hacksaw and twenty minutes of sawing to get it off the skull it had been attached to, but in the end it was hers. Sneaking it past the guards and stowing it away in Jacob's room was decidedly more difficult. The gate guards had been asleep, so it had not been hard to get by them, but there never seemed to be a shortage of servants about. She had nearly gotten caught a few times, but made the excuse that Jacob had left it behind and she was making sure it did not get lost. That seemed to be enough and using that excuse she eventually arrived back at her room. She hid the horn underneath her matress and then made began to explore the palace more earnestly. She knew from her foal days in school that the royal family had their family crypt below the palace, but where it was she couldn't remember.
On the first floor she found nothing particularly helpful except a set of stairs leading down onto the library level. The guards would not let her into the library itself, so she ignored the library and searched the rest of the floor. Next to a closet she found another set of stairs and followed those down as well. At the bottom of the steps was a large door with the sun symbol that was Celestia's crest as well as Luna's. This could be it! Luna pushed on the door, and indeed it was the royal crypt, two inch layer of dust on everything and all. There was just one problem and it was that the dead were in coffins with stone lids that were too heavy for Trixie's child-body to move. 
"Grrr!" Trixie growled. "Curse this weak body!" On the off chance that one of the coffins were lighter than the other she tried to push the lids off them as well. There were only four coffins, and all of them were too heavy for her to move, though one of them looked as if it had been moved recently. "If only I had my magic, this would not be a problem!" But she did not, and so it was. This did not stop her from wasting several more hours trying to so much as budge one of the lids an inch, however. 

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Author's Note: I think this is not one of my better chapters, but it needed to be done.
Also, anybody got any ideas for Jacob's mother and father's first names? Just calling them Mr. and Mrs. Lighthand gets old after awhile.