LOHAV fic using the super power lottery; when he dies the four other than resurrection roulette get replaced.
So I thought I was dreaming but it turns out the choice I made erased my existence from this reality and put it in another; now I'm in Equestria, the land of magical talking ponies, where everything is sunshine and rainbows right? Well; it just so happens that it is also home to chimeras, hydras, manticores and several other kinds of vicious creatures that would like nothing better than to eat me. I'd have died the first week if it weren't for the fact that I ended up with immortality, and four random powers that change every time I die.
The funny thing about death; it still hurts.
(tags will be added when necessary and powers will be posted at the bottom of the chapter he get's them in)
It started out as a normal day, I got up had breakfast, then started school; and lucky for me, being home schooled, it takes less time. After that I just played video games until it was time to do my homework; then I got ready for Aikido, the martial art I take. We did footwork basic techniques because there were two new people in the class that day. I went home and decide to humiliate people on block ops 2 gun game till I went to bed; that's when things got weird.
I was in a small room with two doors one looked like the door to my house, the other was a simple wooden door with a rope loop as a handle. The part that made it weird was the person standing in front of them, me. "Ok, this is weird." I said, looking around at the room more closely which was a simple blue room.
"You're telling me," my replica said.
"So I'm guessing I'm dreaming right now, right?" I asked as I stepped closer to the doors.
"Technically yes, but not quite," the other me said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked with a Slight chuckle.
"I'm here to give you a choice that will effect you in real life. Step through the door to your house, and you'll wake up as if nothing happened; go through the wooden door, it would be as if you never existed and you will be sent to a fantasy world, somewhat like this world but different in more ways than alike." He said, as he went and leaned against the wall.
"What is this the matrix?" I laughed.
"If you want to think of it that way, then sure." my replica shrugged.
Now, I know that many people would jump at the chance to go to a fantasy world with no drawbacks, but if it were real, I'd have to leave all my friends and family. After about a minute I made my choice.
"Lets see what's behind door number two." I said, as I grabbed the rope on the wooden door.
___________________
When I woke up it felt like I was knocked unconscious rather then asleep.
'where am I?' I thought as I opened my eyes. I was under the shade of a tree in a field. It only took me about ten seconds to realize that my house was nowhere to be found.
"Ok guys, you can come out now I know this is some kind of prank." I shouted, thinking some of my friends did this.
...
"Guys?" I called again, starting to get worried.
More silence. 'Ok, so either that wasn't a dream; or I'm in a fantasy world like the other me said.' After an uneventful three hours of walking I was exhausted and hungry but there was no food of any kind to be found so after a twenty minute break I just kept walking.
After about another half hour I found a rock about the size of my hand that was shaped like an axe head. As I went to put it in my pocket I noticed my clothes were different; I was wearing a green sleeveless tunic with some string to tighten the neck area and a white undershirt. My pants were simple white ones with some extra padding on the knees and, guessing by how well they were keeping me cool I'm guessing the were wool and i had a leather belt wrapped over the tunic to help keep them up. Lastly I was wearing leather boots that went up to my shins.
"I swear, if they dyed my hair blond to make me look like Link I'm going to kill them." I said to myself.
After I was done with that dilemma I went to the nearest tree and found a relatively straight stick which was strong enough to make into a spear. at this point It was starting to get dark so I found some sticks and tried to make a fire. Let's just say I spent the night in the cold, and leave it at that.
I woke up the next morning famished with a splitting headache, I soon realized I needed to find some water or I'd die of dehydration. After about 45 minutes of walking I found a stream and it also looked like it might have some fish in it. After I got a rather large drink I realized that my hair was a different color, a dark shade of green. Ten minutes of screaming later I realized that wasn't the only thing different; my ears were twice as long and elf-like, obviously I thought they were fake and tried to take them off, and realized the hard way that they were real.
Processing....processing....done.
"Well, I don't think I'm not gonna live long if I don't find a town." I said to myself. I then got a better look at myself and realized that I looked more like a sylph from the anime Sword Art online than an elf and made a mental note to see if I could fly later.
I followed the stream for a few hours until it was early afternoon. That's when I gathered some wood and tinder to try and make a fire; this time I tried using The bow technique by using the strings around my neck for the bowstring. It took me about an hour but I finally managed to make a decent sized fire. After I was sure it wouldn't die while I tried to catch some fish I took off my clothes to keep them dry and went spearfishing.
I found a spot that wasn't too deep and went to see if there was any fish in it and soon my eyes fell on a trout just swimming in place, I slowly crept closer on the bank and got my spear ready. I stabbed at where the fish was faster than I thought I could and got it by the area right before its tail fin. As I pulled it out of the water it kept thrashing until its tail split in half and sprayed blood in my face. It tried to swim but after a minute it bled out and died.
I kept fishing until I caught two more and was actually starting to get good at it until I decided I should check on my fire, when I got back the fire had died but the coals were still hot and quickly got it back up. I put my clothes back on then gutted and descaled the fish with my rock before putting them on a stick to cook. After they were done cooking I quickly ate them and tried to find some more wood for the fire before it got too dark.
the next morning I decided to follow the stream in hopes that I would find a town or something. At around noon I tried to sprout wings and fly like in Alfheim online but to no avail. I then went back to following the stream for a few hours until I found a good spot to camp and went to catch some more fish.
After I caught one I went to find some more when something caught my eye. I saw some thing metallic at the bottom of a deep part in the stream, I dived down and grabbed it, only to give myself a shallow cut on my hand. after another attempt I managed to bring it to the surface and on shore. It was a simple dagger about six inches in length, the running water and gravel at the bottom kept most rust from forming on it and kept it relatively sharp I decided that that was enough and went back to my camp.
the next day I kept following the stream when I heard a coyote howl nearby, and then another from the opposite direction. It didn't take me long to realize what was going on so I slowly backed away from the stream and went to an open spot with no cover for them to hide behind. I then drew the dagger I found and waited, after about a minute three of them came out of the bushes towards me from the left and another four from the right.
They started to make a semi circle around me and would occasionally take a few steps closer. The first to attack me was one of the four on the right, it went low trying to take my legs out but I've seen how they take down deer so as it came within range I managed to stab it behind the shoulder; it then let out a pained yip before trying to limp away only to collapse after it made it about twelve feet.
The coyotes wizened up after that and circled me from a safe distance. After a while one feinted while the other seized the chance to get a bite on my leg, seeing this chance the rest pounced on me and were all going to bite me until I instinctively jumped. I don't know why I did but I realized that it saved my life. I was ten feet in the air and not falling, I looked behind me and saw green wings made out of light on my back. They looked like dragonfly wings except they had a more pointed end.
Sadly my luck didn't hold out as I soon fell to the ground and they rushed me again. I managed to kill the one leading the charge and injure one behind it but then they got to me and pinned me down so I couldn't fly away. one bit at my arm, another at my leg and another was tearing into my side. At this point I felt extreme anger and suddenly a torrent of wind erupted around me and sent them flying.
the four remaining coyotes decided to cut their loses and abandon the injured one who couldn't even walk any more. I walked over it and saw that the blast of wind had broken some of its ribs and one must have punctured a lung and they were filling up with blood.
"Hey buddy." I said in as soft a voice as I could while gently petting it. "It's alright, I wont hurt you."
"Shh don't move, you'll hurt yourself more." I said as It started whimpering and coughed up some blood. I picked up my dagger from the ground. " I'm sorry, but the most I can do Is stop the pain." I said, as I slit its throat; quickly putting it out of its misery.
I then started limping in no particular direction hoping that by some miracle I found a town before I bled out; I knew that it was unlikely but I had to try.
I only lasted five minutes before the lack of blood made me slip into unconsciousness.
____________________
I woke up in a bed with bandages wrapped around my entire chest, my left arm and right leg and only my pants on. The room was relatively small with one window and my clothes were on a shelf underneath it. As I sat up I had a quick spike of pain and had to find a different way to move.
"Hello, is anyone there?" I called out.
"Yes, are you able to move yet?" a male voice called from outside.
"I think so, so long as I don't put to much weight on my leg." I called back as I tested my weight.
"Good, come down when you're ready; I'll have some food waiting for you." the voice said.
After taking a moment to get dressed I slowly walked down the stairs and could smell some kind of soup being cooked.
"Ah there you are here have some of the soup I made." said a light brown pony.
"Ok, this is only the fifth weirdest thing that's happened in the last few days so I'll go along with it." I said as I took a place at the table.
"I take it you've never seen a pony before?" he asked.
"No it's just, where I come from ponies and horses are nothing more than animals." I explained.
The pony gave me look of curiosity mixed with anger so I explained more, " No! I mean they're not sentient, like a cat or a fish. If they could think for themselves we'd treat them as such." I explained.
"Don't worry, I understand, but you might want to keep that to yourself when you meet the other townsponies." he told me.
"I'll keep that in mind, and I never got your name." I said.
"Tracker," he said with a nod, "and if you don't eat, your soup is going to get cold."
"Oh, thanks." I said as I started eating. As I did I took a better at the room and Tracker himself. Tracker was a relatively old pony with hair that used to be black but was primarily gray now. His main room was how you'd imagine a hunter's house; pelts, a dear head, some traps and a few weapons lined the walls.
"So I'm guessing you're the one who found me?" I asked.
"Aye that I did, but it was our healer Brightheart, who patched you up." Tracker explained
"Well, I'll have to thank her when I get the chance." I said.
Tracker nodded and said,"Aye, but now I think it's your turn to answer some questions."
"Ask away." I shrugged.
"Alright, first; how did you fight off that pack of coyotes? If there were three corpses then there had to be at least two or three more in the pack." he asked
"Think I was given the powers of a sylph, a wind spirit from where I come from." I said, remembering everything I could about them.
"Alright then what are you exactly?" was his next question.
"I'm what's called a human." I explained.
"Alright, two more. why are you in Equestria exactly? Must be a long way from home." asked Tracker.
'you have no idea' I thought. "I came to be an adventurer, and learn to fight." I said, making up a story for how I got here.
"And lastly, what's you name?" he asked.
At this question I had a typical gamer dilemma 'what to name my character', but soon decided on a name.
"So Is there anything I can do to help around here? I don't think I should stay here without doing something to help out." I asked.
"Not in your condition; I only found you two days ago. Until Brightheart says otherwise the only thing I'll allow you to do is walk up and down the stairs for food" Tracker replied.
"Fair point but when I can I'm going to pay you back." I told him.
"Fine, but until then you need to rest; Brightheart is going to be here tomorrow to change your bandages and see if she can heal you some more". he said.
"Wait ponies can use magic?" I asked, wondering how that was possible.
"Aye all ponies can; unicorns use magic in the form of spells, pegasi use it to move and stand on clouds, as well as control the weather; and earth ponies like me use it to help crops grow and heal ourselves." Tracker explained.
"Ah, I understand now." I said
"Aye now I think you should get some rest." he said, motioning to the stairs.
The next day after breakfast there was a knock at the door, "Tracker, it's me can I come in?" came a voice from outside.
"Door's unlocked." he shouted as he put some meat in a barrel of salt to preserve it.
As she came in I had to stifle a chuckle. Brightheart was a blue unicorn with a red mane.
"I see you're awake." she said.
"Yeah, and I hear I have you to thank for patching me up." I replied standing up.
"I heard what happened to you, and you're quite lucky if that coyote had torn into your left side, it would have hit your liver and you'd have bled out in minutes." she explained.
"Wait, how do you know so much about my anatomy?" I asked
"It's very similar to that of a minotaur, not much else to it." Brightheart replied.
"Alright, and your here to try to heal and re-bandage me right?" I asked
"Yes so if you could kindly sit back down I can do this much quicker." she said.
As I sat down her horn glowed the same shade of blue and so did the bandages on my leg. After removing them her horn changed color to a shade of gold and enveloped my foot in the same light as she did the bite wound became smaller. "That's as good as I can heal that injury." she said.
"wait so you can't heal it completely?" I asked.
"It would take many more years of experience than I have to fully heal a wound that bad." she explained as she repeated the process on my arm.
"This is going to sting, but I need to clean this one, a wound this severe could easily get infected." Brightheart said as she grabbed a bottle of alcohol and unwrapped my side.
"Just get me something to bite down on." I asked
Tracker then gave me a piece of rawhide to put into my mouth; as I did so Brightheart poured some of the alcohol onto a piece of cloth and dabbed my wound. Now if you've had alcohol poured on a cut or scrape, then multiply that by 100 going a whole inch and a half deep all over my side; then you have an accurate description of my pain.
After she was done with that torture she called a treatment she healed it to the best of her abilities and re bandaged it.
"So, how long until he can be put to work? he offered to help me and I intend to hold him to that." Tracker said with a smirk.
"As long as it's nothing strenuous he should be able to work in two or three days." Brightheart replied.
"Good, he starts tomorrow." Tracker said as his smirk turned into an evil grin.
The next day he worked me as hard as he could; sweeping, doing dishes, he even made me organize his pelts by animal. I suppose a few good things came out of it, he taught me how to clean and skin an animal, how to string a bow, and how to tan a hide.
'Well I did say I'd do what I could to help out.' I thought to myself.
After a few days he let up and just had me clean up my own messes. "Pretty soon I'm going to be well enough to leave." I said as I put my plate in his sink and poured some water from the fireplace onto them.
"Aye, but so long as you pull your weight you'll always be welcome here." Tracker said.
The next day as I stretched and got out of bed I noticed that the marks on my side were just a large group of scars at this point. As I came down the stairs I noticed Tracker putting some supplies in a backpack.
"You going somewhere?" I asked
"No, but I figure you're well enough to go outside so I, decided to give you some supplies to help you on your way. I also made a sheath for that knife of yours and sharpened it." he explained.
"You know, you didn't have to do this, I would have been happy to pay for all this." I said as he gave me the dagger
"I figure you've more than earned it over the last few days." he replied as he finished packing the supplies.
"Thanks, I'll come back after I've made a bit of a name for myself and tell some of my stories." I said as I took the pack and strapped the knife to my belt.
"One more thing," he said as he handed me a recurve bow and a quiver filled with 30 arrows. "In case you run into any more coyotes."
As I opened the door I was blinded for a moment, my eyes had become accustomed to the dark in the week that I had been indoors. The town was relatively small with only eight buildings including Tracker's and a small guard barracks. I decided to head to the barracks and ask if there was anything to be done.
As I went in I was met by large earth pony in iron armor. "So, your the one Tracker's been taking care of; I'm Bulwark, captain of the guard here in Greenvale." he said, extending his hoof.
"Aeren." I replied as I shook his hoof, "I was wondering if there was anything that could be counted as a job for me to do?" I asked
"Sorry, but I can't think of anything." he replied
"That's fine then I guess I'll be on my way." I said as I turned and walked away.
After that I decided to see what Tracker had given me. Inside the bag was a water skin, some meat and bread, some small metal hooks, a ball of twine, a blanket, and a small bag of coins. After the inventory check was done I decided to head out and follow the road.
I followed the road west until dusk and then set up camp for the night. That night I decided not to build a fire as it was a full moon and could see well enough. I ate one of the pieces of meat and drank some of my water skin and then went to sleep using my pack as a pillow.
The next day I cut a limb of a tree cut a length of twine and attached one of the hooks to make a fishing rod and caught myself some breakfast from a small pond. I then went to a nearby clearing and tried to get my wings to work. At first I tried to jump and let instinct take over, all that earned me was a mouthful of dirt. Next I tried forcing them by using my back muscles to force them out, that earned me a few pulled muscles.
'That's gonna hurt for the next few days.' I thought to myself. After an hour of failing to even create my wings and was about to give up when I remembered how they got to get their wings to work in Sword Art Online. I imagined the wings forming on my back and bones giving them rigidity. When I looked behind me there they were.
After that I spent another two hours just making them grow and disappear until I could do it with ease. Next I tried to actually fly but couldn't seem too keep myself in the air for more than a few seconds. During this time I noticed that I could jump much higher than I could on earth, easily jumping ten feet or more without my wings. After a while I figured out I just had to will myself to stay in the air, moving was a bit tricky and I didn't manage to get it completely before it got too dark to see. That night I ate the loaf of bread and went to bed.
The next morning I decided to learn how to maneuver while I was on the go so I could find a place to explore. After ten minutes of flight though, I became very winded. I realized that without training, I'd never survive in a real fight. I decided that when I get to the next town I'd find a work intensive job and build my strength that way.
An hour later I decided I'd set some snares hoping to catch some rabbits or squirrels. I found a small lake, refilled my water skin, and camped nearby. the next morning I went around collecting the animals from the snares; though out of the dozen I set, only four had game in it, three rabbits and a squirrel.
That night I cooked and ate the animals I caught and went to bed. I woke up just as the sun was rising, and by early afternoon caught sight of a town. As I got closer I could see that it had a eight foot wall around it and the gate was guarded by two ponies in the same armor captain Bulwark was in; one a pegasus, and the other an earth pony.
"Halt! State your name and purpose for being here." the earth pony guard demanded.
"My name is Aeren; I'm a traveler, I came here from Greenvale" I replied not wanting to anger the trained fighters with spears.
"Alright, head on in. Keep your nose clean while you're, and enjoy your stay at Mountainview." he said as he waved me through. After wandering a bit and asking around, I found a lumber camp just outside the walls. As I arrived at the lumber camp I was met by an earth pony mare.
"Not many ponies or... whatever it is you are come out this way unless they're looking for something; name's Heartwood how can I help you?" she asked in a voice that resembled that of Ralof's sister from skyrim.
" Aeren; I'm looking for a job, you need any workers?" I asked.
"Aye, we could always use another axe to split wood." she said as she handed me an axe " I'll give you two bits each log you split."
"Sounds like a deal." I said as I went to the nearest chopping block. After about an hour and a half I had earned a nice bag with sixty bits in it. I then headed to the local inn, a decent place called 'the Red Leaf'. I walked up to the innkeeper, a grey unicorn with a brown mane and asked, "How much for a room?"
"Ten bits a night." he said as he got the key out.
"I'll give you five." I countered.
"Nine." came his next offer.
"Seven and I'll pay for three nights." I offered.
"Deal," he said as he gave me the key. "it's the second door on the left when you get up the stairs.
"Thanks." I said I said as I went to my room.
I set my pack down on the far end of the room, took off my belt and tunic and placed them in the room's dresser. I then climbed into the bed; closed my eyes and remembered my family, and wept.
When I woke up it was still dark, so I tried to go back to sleep but to no avail. After I put on my belt and tunic, I decided that if I couldn't sleep I might as well do something productive; so I grabbed my pack and headed to the lumber yard. Along the way I ate the last piece of salted meat, took a drink from my water skin, and quickened my pace. After I arrived I began searching for an axe and, after a few minutes of searching; I found one.
After about an hour or so the sun began to rise and marked the time I took a break. After about fifteen minutes, and a quick drink, I began to get back to work. After around another half an hour the first few of the lumber ponies came to start the work day and one of the first Among them was Heartwood.
After seeing me she she walked up and said,"Well, I see you're an early riser."
"Not really, I couldn't sleep so I decided to make use of that time." I replied.
"Either way, you seam to be a decent worker; now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get working myself." she said as she walked away.
After two more hours of work I was completely exhausted and was about to quit when my body switched to burning fat instead of my leftover energy. I continued working for another hour before counting up the number of wood pieces I had and going to heartwood for that days pay.
"You are quite the fast worker, aren't you? it takes most of my workers at least twice as long to make a pile that big." she said as she looked over the pile.
"One of the bonuses of having hands, I suppose." I replied.
"Anyway, here's your pay, and I don't suppose you'll be coming back tomorrow?" Heartwood asked as she handed me the bag of bits.
"No I don't think so, this should last me at least three days." I replied as I poured as many of the bits into my coin purse as I could and put the other one in my pack.
I headed back to the in and asked the innkeeper what he had in the way of food.
"I've got meat, bread, corn, fish, eggs, and several kinds of fruits and vegetables." he answered.
"Alright then, I'll have a slice of bread, an apple, and two scrambled eggs." I ordered.
With a nod the innkeeper went to the fireplace and began cooking the eggs, occasionally adding onions, oyster mushrooms, and some spices. After ten minutes it was done and he handed the plate over to me, "That's going to be fifteen bits please." the innkeeper asked. I handed him over and began eating. It was by far the best meal I've had in weeks and I'd like to say I savored every bite but I scarfed it and the bread down in a minute.
After I was done eating I went to my room and began to count my coins. After about ten minutes I came up with a total of 176 bits; after counting again to make sure I was correct I sat on my bed and began to think how I'd spend the rest of my day and the next few days ahead. I decided that splitting wood would be strength training, then the next day would be speed and agility, and the third day I'd find a unicorn to teach me how to use magic.
after about an hour I went downstairs and ordered a piece of ham, a cucumber,and an orange. After paying the innkeeper and eating my food I decided to walk around town and browse the stores. I found a blacksmith but the cheapest sword at 125 bits for a notched iron sword which would only be useful for training. I also found a general store, a sweet shop, and a butcher
I went to the sweet shop to see what they had; and as expected there were a few colts and fillies wandering around and asking their parents for an obscene amount of candy, only to either be told no or not in that amount. I grabbed a four inch cloth bag for the small candies and went to work picking out the flavors I liked. I grabbed several pieces of raspberry, orange, apple, and watermelon flavored candies. I then took two bars of chocolate which used a thin piece of paper to cover them and a gingerbread pony.
I waited in line until it was my turn the children occasionally turning to look at me and whisper to their parents. When it was my turn the shopkeeper, a female yellow pegasus with a blue and white mane that looked like frosting asked, "Is that everything?"
"I believe so." I answered, getting out my coin purse.
"Thirty bits please." she asked, holding out a hoof.
I counted out the money and walked back to the inn to eat some of the candy. I was about halfway there when I heard a couple ponies talking, " Have you heard, another townspony has gone missing." the first said in a hushed tone
" That's the second one this month, how long until the guard do something about it?" replied the second.
I decided that once I was a little more prepared, I'd try to find who or what was taking them away. When I finally arrived back at the inn I went straight to my room and began to pick out a few candies to eat. I chose a few hard candies, and half a chocolate bar. The hard candies varied in size but they tasted much better than jolly ranchers, likely do to the fact that they used artificial flavors instead of regular berry juice. The chocolate was a bit bitter for my taste, but still good.
I went outside to the town well and refilled my water skin, and decided to go in the woods to see if I could find a decent spot to practice acrobatics and running and also decent for flying maneuvers. After about an hour and a half I found an area where the trees were spread far enough away to provide room for running and flight, but also close enough that I should be able to jump from tree to tree.
on the way back I noticed an area with several dead maple trees, so I walked around to see if I could find some oyster mushrooms, and, after a few minutes of searching found some that had them on it. I collected the ones that were low on the trees and left the ones higher up to spread more spores and make more.
When I arrived back at the inn it was starting to get dark. I walked in and went over to the innkeeper, "Here, how much are these worth?" I asked as I opened my pack to reveal the mushrooms.
"About eight bits a pound." he replied as he put them on a scale, which stopped at roughly five pounds. He handed me the bits and I proceeded up to my room. When I got there I took off my tunic and belt and placed them in the drawers and my dagger on top of it. I then grabbed the rest of the first chocolate bar and finished it. As I was getting into my bed I thought of how funny it would be if the gingerbread pony came to life and started running around.
I woke up a little after dawn and went to grab some candy from my bag but, just as I opened my pack what would be one of the strangest things that happened during my time in Equestria happened; the gingerbread pony that was in my bag jumped out and on to the drawers right next to my dagger.
" Uhh... hey there, little guy." I said obviously confused.
The Gingerbread pony waved in response.
"So um, how did you come to life anyway?" I asked
It simply pointed at me.
"Me? How could I- oh, I see. Well, since you are alive, I have a job for you." I said, which caused the gingerbread pony to give a mock salute. "I need you to run around the town and draw as much attention to yourself, without hurting anyone or breaking anything; try to get them to chase you but don't let them catch you, alright?" I stated, putting it into my pocket and getting dressed.
When we got outside I took it out of my pocket and it started running around. After a minute or two a young filly saw it and began to chase it as a game of tag almost; soon enough a few of her friends joined in on the chase and it had to start running a little faster. At this point I was starting to laugh. In the next few minutes some of the adults, seeing the running pastry began to watch and laugh as well; a few even joined in themselves. After another five minutes I got bored and called the gingerbread pony back, and with it a good deal of ponies.
One of the foals, a unicorn colt came up to me and asked, " How did you do that, I thought only unicorns could use magic like that?"
"Well, where I come from some, but not all of my people can use magic. In fact only about ten percent of us can use it, I just happen to be one of them." I lied as I turned the gingerbread pony into a simple cookie.
"Wow, could you do that again?" another foal asked. I was about to say no but their eyes just seemed to inflate with faces of sadness and hope.
"Sure, why not." I said as I set the gingerbread pony to run again.
After the fun with the townsponies was over I went to that grove I found and set my pack down on a rock. I started by climbing one of the trees until I was a decent height up; then I waited a moment to catch my breath and decide what I was going to do next. I started climbing up and down in different routes and kept going faster until I was afraid I might miss a branch and fall.
"This is harder than it looks." I said to myself as I kept going. After a few minutes of this I started to jump from tree to tree and climb back up when I got close to the ground, and Several times I would have fallen and died if it weren't for my wings.
I continued practicing in the trees for another two hours and then took a break. When I got back to it I started doing aerial maneuvers around the trees for as long as I could until taking a breather. About this time I got my second wind and could go a lot longer before getting tired. I kept trying as long as I could to keep myself in the air but after a while it began to rain and I had to stop.
I ran back to town as fast as I could but by the time I got back I was completely soaked. I went to my room at the inn and laid my clothes to dry before taking a nap until they got dry. When I woke up my tunic and undershirt were dry but the pants were still a bit damp so I just grabbed the other chocolate bar and ate it quickly. After another half hour the pants were dry enough that I could put them on. When I got downstairs I ordered a very large meal and quickly paid so I could get right to eating it. After that I was too tired so I just went to bed.
When I woke up it was around noon. I grabbed my gear, got some breakfast and went outside to find a unicorn who could teach me how to learn at least basic magic. I started by asking around but most of the ponies I asked couldn't think of a unicorn that could teach me. After a while a pony told me to try Insightful Tutor, the teacher at the local school because he also taught the unicorn foals how to learn magic.
After thanking the pony for their help and headed for the school which was just a small building which was only large enough for one room. I waited around for a boring hour and a half before the children came running out and either playing, talking, or simply walking home. After the foals had cleared out for the most part I went inside and found the teacher cleaning up his books.
"Excuse me." I said to get his attention.
"Ah, so you're the one they've all been talking about." he replied.
"Yeah, I'm here to see if you can teach me how to use magic." I explained.
"I most certainly can try, though it seems odd that you can't control it already." Tutor replied. "Mana, the magic inside all living creatures is in a way much like blood in that it is a source of life and you can actually die from having all of it removed. It is also like blood in how it is spread through the body; a central source inside the chest that branches out like your veins and arteries." He continued. "In fact, the only thing I can teach you right now is to imagine your magic and try to focus it; first to in your body in general and then into one point."
"That's honestly all I wanted to know, how to control it." I said.
"I see; well, come back when you can control your magic to an extent and I'll teach you a few basic spells." Insightful Tutor replied.
"Thanks, I'll start practicing as soon as I get back to the inn." I said as I turned and ran back to the inn. After I got back I placed another 21 bits on the counter and ran to my room. I then sat on my bed and started imagining the mana in my body like I was told. I imagined it spreading out with a main vein going to the limbs and head with smaller veins branching out and then the mana moving through them. I continued for about two hours before I was too bored to do it any more and just took a walk through the town for a while and got a few candies while heading back to the inn.
When I got back to the inn I ordered some venison for dinner and went back to my room to continue practicing how to control my magic. I tried the same thing as last time but also concentrated and tried to have the mana go through my body with more force. while I was doing this, I could actually feel the mana going through me slightly but had to stop within ten minutes because it was causing me to get a headache. After a short break for the pain to subside I began to start again but didn't do it with that much force.
I practiced for a while longer but started to get tired so I tried to got some sleep. Unfortunately for me the universe had other plans as I woke up less than an hour later because of some noise downstairs. I didn't really pay attention to it and tried to go back to sleep, but it was too bothersome so I decided to go see what it was.
I soon found that the source was a couple unsavory looking gryphons who were armed and drinking quite heavily. I soon decided I'd rather live so I went back to my room before they noticed me and did my best to develop my mana flow until they left. After another twenty minutes things seemed to quiet down so I went back to bed.
I woke up just after dawn and got some breakfast. "So, who were those gryphons who were causing the noise last night?" I asked as I ate.
"Oh, them? They're just a couple of thugs who come in and drink every so often." the innkeeper replied as he swept some dirt out the door.
"Then why don't you kick them out?" I wondered.
"I don't know if you noticed, but they were armed; and as long as they keep paying for their drinks I'm not going to even think about making them leave." he explained.
"Ah, I see." I said as I finished eating and placed the plate on the counter. I then went to the lumber yard to start the day's work. It was a relatively boring day but I worked for a little while longer to try to get enough money to buy a decent sword. When I was finished I went back to the inn to count my money and decide what to with it. I set aside 100 bits for food and my room which left 253 to do what I wanted with.
After I put the bits into separate bags to tell which was which I went to the general store and took a look around for anything useful. I found a hatchet, cloth to make into bandages, some extra arrows, a tanning rack, a whet stone, a honing stone, some flint, and some rope. All in all it cost fifty bits which I happily payed.
When I got back I started sharpening the hatchet for half an hour until it was decently sharp, then I did the same thing with the dagger but this time I used the honing stone afterwards until it was razor sharp. After I was done I grabbed my gear, put the hatchet in a loop on the side of my pack and went downstairs for some lunch.
After I was done eating I went into the woods to hunt. I searched for a while before I found some deer tracks which I started to follow for a while until the ground became too hard for to make any. After another hour or so I found the deer that made the tracks. It was a young whitetail buck with four points on each antler it was eating some wild strawberries and didn't seem to notice me I notched an arrow and aimed behind its front leg where most of its vitals were. I held my breath to hold it steady and released the arrow. The deer took off running and I chased after it as quietly as I could and I even lost sight of it for a few minutes but followed the tracks and blood until I found it again. It wasn't dead but it was laying down trying to rest. I notched another arrow and aimed for its vitals again; this time it slowly limped away but collapsed. After I got to it I pulled out my knife and stabbed it through the deer's eye as to not damage its pelt.
I tied the rope to its back legs and dragged it for an hour and a half but it weighed 80-100 pounds and was getting dark so I found a tree with a strong limb high enough to keep it out of a predator's reach and hung it there for the night. I then gathered pine cones, dry leaves, and plenty of sticks for the night. I took the flint out of my pack and easily started a fire. That night I was woken up by a noise in the brush to my right; I then tried to scare off whatever it was by chucking a rock in the direction of the noise. whatever it was bolted after that and I went back to sleep.
The next morning the fire was just a bed of ashes so after making sure there weren't any hot coals I didn't bother with it. After making sure the deer was still there, I took it down and dragged it for a couple hours until I was at a river close to the town. I then started to gut the deer and threw most of the organs into the water to be carried downstream, but I kept the liver. After I was done with its chest cavity I found a small stick and swirled it around in the deers skull to remove the brain. After all the organs had been removed I washed the deer out to remove any excess blood or bits of organ and washed my hands and dagger.
After everything was cleaned up I dragged the much lighter deer back to town and brought it to the town butcher who paid me fifty bits and skinned it in exchange for the meat, skull and liver. Afterwards I went to the general store and sold the pelt for twenty bits and headed to the blacksmith. After looking at the weapons which were behind the smith I found a simple steel sword with no decoration in a boiled leather sheath. "How much for that one?" I asked, pointing at the one I wanted.
"280." he simply replied.
"I only have 273, but I'll give you some metal hooks I have to even it out." I said as I took all but five hooks out of my pack.
"I suppose I can use them as scrap if all else fails." the blacksmith replied as he took the sword down and gave it to me.
On my way back to the inn I almost had to restrain myself from drawing the sword. Once I got into my room put down my pack and unsheathed it and just admired it. The blade was double edged and ended in a nice point and was about 28 inches long and decently sharp. The hilt was, like I said; undecorated with a treated wood grip tightly wrapped in leather, and the pommel was a simple ball of metal; the sheath even had a strap for my belt. I tested the weight by doing a few thrusts and blocks and found it was surprisingly light.
After I was done inspecting my sword I put it next to the dresser, got some lunch, and spent the rest of the day relaxing and working on how to at least cast basic magic. The next day I payed for my room and after I was done at the lumber yard I immediately grabbed my sword and went to the guard barracks to see if they could teach me how to fight. Sadly though, couldn't teach me anything because they couldn't think of how to change their tactics to apply to me. They suggested that I find a minotaur who would be willing to teach me.
After I got some lunch at the inn, I went in the woods and started practicing with my sword. I started practicing the way I was used to at my martial arts class and held it in both hands like a katana. At first I just did basic attacks and defense such as a vertical cut or a strike that would cut from one shoulder to the opposite hip. I continued with my practice for a few hours and then switched to trying to fight while in the air. Fighting with my wings was much more difficult as it added a whole new dimension to fight in. I did my best to apply the techniques to aerial combat as much as possible and found that, while more difficult; it was not as hard as I thought it would be.
I practiced in the air until it started to get dark and then headed back. I spent the night sharpening my sword and practicing with my mana flow until I went to bed. The next few days became somewhat of a routine, I would spend the day training or working and practice with my magic at nights or I'd spend the whole day relaxing and practicing it.
After a few days in the afternoon I went to the school and told Insightful Tutor that I was ready to learn those spells he offered to teach me.
"From the looks of you, I'm guessing you're not going to be interested in spells such as levitation?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm mostly concerned about combat spells." I replied.
"I see, then the only spell I can teach you would be a simple attack with power that; depending on how much power you put behind it, can range from a long ranged unarmed strike, to a ballista shot" Insightful Tutor told me.
"That's fine by me." I shrugged
"Then aim toward the woods, simply focus your magic into one spot and send it out." instructed Tutor.
I did as he asked and raised my arm toward the nearest tree and gathered my magic in my hand. After a moment of I noticed a spiraling cone of wind around my hand and decided to unleash it then. Instead of a simple bolt of magic a strong gust of wind shot out and removed several leaves from the tree. "Ah, wind magic; not an easy magic to learn, even for a pegasus, but you seam to have a natural affinity to it." Tutor said in response to my display.
"Really, what would be some other wind spells I could learn then?" I asked.
"I don't use wind magic, but from what I understand; you'd be able to create torrents of wind to blow your enemies away and into objects, create blades of wind, or even move faster." he explained.
"Thanks for all the help." I said as I went to the woods to practice as much as possible.
I spent the next two weeks practicing with my weapons and magic for the most part; both in the air and on the ground. In that time I began to be able to use my magic at a much faster rate; as well as becoming quite accurate with my bow. I also got a lot better with my sword than I'd been on earth.
After a while I decided it was time to help the guards find those missing ponies so I headed to the guard barracks and offered my help
"We certainly could use your help, I'll pay you 300 bits if you find them; and another 200 if you find who or what has been taking them." the captain said.
"Sounds like a deal; but I'll need to know everything you know about the missing ponies." I replied.
"I'd expect that, here's all the reports we've gathered." he said as he pulled a stack of papers and gave them to me. I quickly began reading and found a few similarities: all of the missing ponies were alone or in very small groups, there were no patterns in terms of race or gender, all of them were supposedly in the town when they disappeared, and there were no indications of where they disappeared or who may have done it.
"Not much to go on here." I said as I handed the papers back.
"That's what makes this so difficult; there's no indication of magic being used, and there's never been anything to indicate that they were forced to leave." the captain replied.
"If it were only a few who had disappeared, I would have thought it was nothing more than they decided to leave town." I told the captain.
"Yes, but we've already lost a dozen citizens and there's no indication that whatever this is is going to relent." he stated.
"Well I'll get started first thing tomorrow." I said as I stood up.
"That's fine, let us know if you find anything." the captain replied.
"Don't worry, I will." I said as I went back to the inn to think of a way to find the missing ponies. When I got back I tossed ideas around in my head and they ranged from searching the whole surrounding area (an idea I quickly dismissed), all the way to trying to get captured myself. 'Now there's an idea', I thought to myself. I began to think about ways I might go about doing just that, but my train of thought was interrupted by a loud noise:
I raced out of the inn towards where I heard the scream. When I arrived I found several ponies around a collapsed guard; he was still alive but was bleeding out due to a cut on his side.
"One of your own people is bleeding out on the ground and all you can do is watch? someone get some clean cloth so he at least has a chance to survive!" I shouted as I took off my shirt to help stop the blood.
"Don't worry about me, even though I'm going to die; what I found out was well worth the price; these weren't some random foalnappings, the missing ponies were taken by slavers. There were only two that I counted: the one I saw and the one who attacked me. It was too dark to see who or what the first one was but I heard him say: 'Those mongrels will pay handsomely for these two.' " The injured guard said.
"Doesn't mean that I can't try to save you." I replied as one of the ponies came back with more rags.
"Heh, please he got me in the liver. See, they're already drenched in blood." He said as the rags became soaked in the red liquid.
"Well, I'm still going to try until some guards arrive." I said as I grabbed more rags.
By the time the guards arrived, the injured one was unconscious and there wasn't much anyone could do to save him. The guards told me that they'd handle it from hear so I made my way toward the guard barracks to tell the captain what the dying guard said. When I arrived, the captain was sitting at his desk and was obviously waiting for news on what happened.
"So, what happened?" The captain asked.
"Well, the good news is we've got a lead on who's taking your people; the bad new is that they're being sold into slavery and one of your guards died finding this out." I replied as I took a seat.
"As sad as it is that a soldier had to die to find this out, if it means we have information as to where they're going; he didn't die in vain. Was there anything else he told you?" He said as he took notes on what I was saying
"Yeah, he said there was at least two of them and he said they called who they were planning to sell them to 'mongrels'. They must not think very much of their buyers to call them dogs." Is said, joking at the end.
The captain thought for a moment before saying: "Aeren, you just helped me figure out who's taking them."
"Really who?" I asked
"The diamond dogs that live in the caves to the north-east; it's a week away, but it still fits into the time between the abductions.
"Diamond dogs?" I asked, confused as to what a diamond dog was.
"They walk on two legs like you, but they look like dogs and aren't very bright. They're probably using the slaves to mine gems and metal for them to eat." The captain explained.
"Sounds similar to goblins from my people's mythology except instead of eating them they just collect shiny objects out of greed." I said.
"I see, well I'm going to get some guards together and send them to try to save the ponies that were taken; I was wondering if you would care to join them.
"Of course, when would we be leaving?" I asked as I stood up.
"One week from today; I'm also going to have the blacksmith make some armor for you so you should probably head over there tomorrow." The captain said as he wrote out a note. "Here, give this to him, he'll get you a decent suit of armor free of charge.
"Will do." I said as I started to leave.
I made my way to the town well and drew some water to clean my shirt with. 'Looks like I'll be getting into a real fight soon enough; I wonder if these diamond dogs will be a challenge for me. Oh well, guess I'll just double up on my training to make sure I'm ready. I thought to myself as I scrubbed the last of the blood off.
The next day I headed over to the blacksmith to have him start making my suit of armor. As I walked through the door the blacksmith greeted me, "Hello again, how can I help you today?" he asked.
"Well, the captain told me you'd be able to make me some armor by next week; he also told me to give you this." I said as I handed him the note.
"I see, I'll just need to take your measurements as I've never made armor for a creature with your body shape." the blacksmith replied as he pulled out several strips of leather to work as makeshift measuring tapes.
he wrapped a strip around each arm and then loosened it slightly to make it so the armor would fit properly when it was finished afterwards, he used the remaining leather on those strips to make a knot so he could go back and reference it. He then did the same thing with the broadest part of my chest, my waist, and my wrists and ankles. when the blacksmith was finished he put the strips away and came back to me. " What kind of armor would you like me to make? I can make you a full leather suit or I could make you one made out of chainmail; which, though more durable would way a bit more." he asked.
"Chainmail; and could you also reinforce my gloves and boots with iron so I don't lose them in a fight?" I replied
"Of course, I'll have it all done in five days." the blacksmith answered.
"Then I'll be back in five days." I said as I walked out the door and toward the inn to grab my gear. After I grabbed my gear I went to the guard barracks to see if I could find a sparring partner to test how I'd do in an actual fight. I found a Pegasus with a dark gray coat and a teal mane with yellow streaks that looked like lightning in it by the name of Howling Wind who was willing to spar with me. We took our places at opposite ends of the sparring ring and each of us took a wooden sword.
Howling Wind was the first to make a move; after trying to find an easy opening in my stance and finding none, he tried to charge me and use his speed to hit me before I could dodge. I sidestepped him and simultaneously lowered my sword and cut forward to cut his side but he was too far away. I kept my weight on my front foot and pivoted toward my open side to block as he came in fore an overhead strike; I kept the block up until his sword had gone safely past me before turning the block into a diagonal cut aimed at the back of his neck. he ducked under it but I then turned the blade to go the other way and got the front of his throat instead.
As he fell to the ground I stepped back to give him room. "Not bad, that stance is perfect for blocking an attack and then countering it." he said as he stood up.
"You're not so bad either, but you're relying too much on your speed which leaves you wide open." I replied.
"Well let's see how you handle this!" he exclaimed as he took to the air. I had to admit he was much more challenging in the air than on the ground. He would swoop in and get try to get a quick strike on either my arms or upper chest unless I blocked or dodged. This continued for a few minutes until I decided to even the playing fields. 'can't wait to see the look on his face when I fly toward him.' I thought to my self as I sprouted my wings and flew towards him as he was making another flyby. I was going to go for an uppercut when he changed course enough to dodge my attack.
"Well, this just got a little more interesting; got any other tricks I should know about?" Howling wind asked as we flew back to a safe distance.
"Just one, but a good poker player never shows his hand until the final round of betting." I replied.
"Fair point, but I'm not gonna hold back anymore." he said as he got ready to attack again.
"That's fine, neither am I." I replied as I did the same.
We simultaneously charged each other and quickly began to trade blows. I quickly charged a magic attack and unleashed it on him at point blank, sending him flying across the sky. He quickly regained his balance and without a word, charged me again. We continued to trade blows until we were both too tired to fly any more and continued even after that until we both collapsed from exhaustion. By the time we were done we had half the town watching us.
*pant* "Well," *pant* "I never expected you to" *pant* "expected you to be such a good fighter. It's been a while since someone even came close to beating me." he said as he laid there, hooves spread out like a ragdoll. couldn't say I was much better. *pant* "I underestimated you" *pant* "as well. We should spar" *pant* "again sometime." I replied between breaths. The rest of the day was a blur and I didn't do much other than sleeping for the rest of the day. The next morning, I was coming down to get some breakfast when the innkeeper shouted: "There's the talk of the town."
"What, is Howling Wind that strong?" I asked as I took a seat and ordered an anime character sized meal.
"Let's put it this way: the only reason that he's NOT captain, is because he'd never be willing to do the paperwork.
I let out a laugh as I began eating. When I was finished, I went into town to get some extra supplies for when we went to see if we were right about the diamond dogs being the captors of the townsponies. As I was on my way to the general store I noticed quite a few of the locals were watching me with an amount of respect which they didn't before. 'Wow, fight one guy to a draw and this is how they treat me? I wonder how much more it'll be when we rescue their friends.' I thought to myself as I walked into the store. I restocked on arrows and made my way to the woods for some target practice. I continued to keep shooting until it was almost too dark to see and headed back. I spent the rest of the week practicing a new spell, and by the end of the week I could cast it in around ten seconds.
The day before we were to head out, I went to the blacksmith to get my new gear. As I went inside, the blacksmith greeted me; "There you are; I just finished your armor as well as your boots and gloves." he said as he went to bring me my gear. "Here you go." he said as he brought it out. The shirt was long sleeved and hung just past where the pants started to avoid any lucky strikes, and the chain itself was made of high quality steel. The new boots and gloves looked like my old ones except for the steel lining in the heel and toes area for the boots. the same could be said for the gloves except there was steel on the backs of the hands and fingers instead.
"Thanks." I replied as I began to try my new armor on. I started with the pants and which, though slightly too big; after I put the shirt on and used my belt to hold them, they fit perfectly and was surprisingly light. I took the shirt and pants off and put them into my backpack. I then went to the general store to get some extra food and other supplies for the mission. I bought a couple pounds of dried meat and a bag of nuts, as well as some extra cloth to use as a hammock. I then browsed for a while until I couldn't find anything else to buy.
After I was done at the store I spent the rest of the day at the inn. That night I couldn't sleep, not because I was uncomfortable or worried; it was the opposite in fact, I was excited to test my skills against actual creatures that used crafted weapons. After about two hours I finally managed to fall asleep.
I woke up just after dawn and put on my chainmail underneath my clothes to look like I was unarmored and made my way to the barracks to see who was going with me. When I arrived, I found Howling Wind and 3 others waiting for me.
"This everyone?" I asked.
"Not quite, we're still waiting for two others." one of the other guards, an earth pony replied.
It took about twenty minutes for one of the two to arrive, and another half hour until the second did. I then got a better look at our group to see how each of them fought. there were three earth ponies one armed with a spear, one with a sword and shield, and one with a crossbow and dagger, all stallions; other than Howling wind who was carrying two swords instead of one this time there was a female pegasus with a longbow and a shortsword. Lastly there were two unicorns, one male, one female. The male was obviously a combat mage and he carried a small mace as his weapon in case of emergency. The female unicorn however was unarmed and didn't look like she would be much good in a fight so I went over and asked her about it.
"Well, I only know a basic projectile spell that's not very powerful; but I'm good at healing magic. I can heal most of the minor wounds completely as well as make the others less severe." she said timidly. "I also have a spell that can reduce your fatigue for a little while."
"Then you are probably one of the most important members of our team." I replied, which caused her to smile and walk away.
Just then the captain came out of his office to address us; "Alright, as some of you have already heard; your mission is in regards to a possible lead as to where the missing townsponies may have been taken. We do not know for sure if they are indeed there, but we do know that wherever they are they have been sold as slaves. Your destination is the diamond dog caves to the northeast; and you are to go there and see if that is indeed where they've been taken. You need not kill any of the dogs, but if you see any of our ponies there, then you are to bring them home at any cost." he said, to which the ponies saluted. not wanting to be the odd man out I saluted as well.
"I'll give you another hour to make sure you have everything you need, but after that your mission begins." he continued.
I spent that time stringing my bow and sharpening my sword. After I was done sharpening my sword it was time to go so I quickly out it in its sheath and picked my bow up.
As we were about to leave we heard the captain remind us: "And remember, don't attack them without cause." and with that we started to make our way to the caves.
This is Going to be Either Extremely Fun, or Extremely Painful (Probably Both)
We continued on our way to the caves until dark; making conversation along the way.
"So Aeren, I saw your fight against Howling Wind; how'd you learn to fight like that? I've never seen anyone even come close to beating him before, and you fought him to a draw." the Earth Pony with the crossbow asked.
"Well, I learned my fighting style from a school back where I came from; it was a general fighting school which taught me how to fight with a sword, dagger, staff, and unarmed. If you're wondering how I'm so fast, that comes from training." I replied.
"Then where'd you learn to use that magic you used?" he continued.
"To be honest, I only learned to use it a couple weeks ago by Insightful Tutor back at town. So, how strong are these diamond dogs, will they be difficult to defeat?" I asked.
"Strength wise? They're a little stronger than most ponies, but if you're asking how skilled they are in a fight then let's put it this way: if you dodge a spear to the side then they'll turn to do another thrust instead of doing a slash with it. The Thing that makes them dangerous isn't their skill; it's their numbers, there's probably going to be somewhere between 35-100 of them, maybe even more." Howling Wind spoke up. "And one last thing; they're diggers so watch your feet."
"Heh, sounds like we're gonna fun time then." I half joked.
We made camp in a copse of trees and I used the cloth I bought and some of my rope to make a hammock about ten feet off the ground and helped gather some firewood by cutting dead limbs off of the trees with my axe. once we had the wood, we then gathered some stones to make a pit and I was about to use my flint and dagger to start the fire when I was interrupted by the male unicorn.
"Allow me." he said as he cast a flame spell to start it instantly.
'Showoff.' I thought to myself.
We made more small talk for a while until I realized something; "I never learned your names." I said as I was eating some of the meat I brought.
"Scarlet Arrow." the female Pegasus said with a smile.
"Silver Stronghold." said the earth pony with the sword and shield as he pounded his chest a single time.
The male unicorn muttered something that I couldn't hear before saying; "My name is Defiant Mind." with a bow.
"You already know my name." Howling Wind replied as he took a bite of the bread loaf he was holding.
"Cobalt Lance." the earth pony with the spear shouted as he made his bedding.
"It's...Morning Spell" the female unicorn said shyly as she cleared an area of leaves and sticks to make her bedding more comfortable.
The earth pony with the crossbow was making sure an arrow that had the area around the head covered in cloth-wrapped pitch was in good condition so he didn't answer me at first. "It's Burning Impact."
"Nice to meet all of you; if you haven't heard my name, it's Aeren. Well, it's getting late; I'm going to get some sleep, you can stay up if you want." I said as I flew up to my hammock.
the next morning was relatively boring as we just walked in relative silence and only made occasional conversation. We stopped around noon to eat so I took that time to do some quick hunting and foraging. I caught a couple rabbits which I skinned on the spot; I also found some wild carrots and a tree with a few oyster mushrooms on it. When I told the others what I found, Morning Spell said she could make a decent stew for us with what I found.
'I wonder if there'll be too many of them to fight.' I thought as we continued walking
We made camp that night by a small stream and refilled our water skins as well as use some to make the broth for the stew. that night was probably the most fun of the days we spent on our way to the caves. "We should probably start sending a lookout ahead of us starting tomorrow. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd much rather have some distance between us and the caves when we're planning how to get in." I said as I started to get serious.The others voiced their agreement and began eating.
We went to bed that night happy and full but we were woken up by something big moving in the brush near us. Cobalt Lance picked up a stone and threw it in the direction of the noise to scare whatever it was off but we were met by the sound of a bear growling. I quickly used a gust of wind to try to scare it off but it must've smelled our food and wanted some. I told the others to make as much noise as possible to scare it off. I used the back of my hatchet to hit a tree to make noise while Stronghold banged his sword and shield together much like how he'd use as a taunt while the others did a number of things to scare it off. After about a minute the bear decided that the scraps we had weren't worth the trouble it was going through to get it and lumbered off.
'Well that was close.' I thought as I got back in my hammock
Nothing else interesting happened until the sixth day when I was scouting ahead. I started flying ahead after I ate some of the meat I brought and flew for about four hours before I caught the first glimpse of the caves. "There you are." I spoke to myself.
It took me about another hour to get close enough to make out any details. I noticed four openings to the caves as well as a couple figures who were too far away to tell anything except that they were bipeds; I also noticed that there were no trees and little grass around the caves likely due to the dogs digging the ground up; there was however, a two groups of boulders close together that could work as cover. After making sure I didn't miss anything I flew back to tell the others; it only took me three and a half hours to fly back and by that time it was mid afternoon.
"So, did you find anything?" Cobalt Lance asked as I made my landing.
"As a matter of fact I did, the caves are a few hours away from here and there were four entrances with a few diamond dogs wandering around them. I didn't see the ponies but I did notice that there's a two groups of rocks that could be used as cover." I said. "If you have some paper and something I could use to draw on I could make a map."
Morning Spell searched around in her bag for a moment before producing a piece of parchment and some charcoal. "Thanks," I said as I began making our map and turning it sideways to give more room to draw the whole area. " Alright, the four entrances are in these spots, the two on the right are about 30 feet and 45 feet uphill. There are 2 diamond dogs next to each of the left entrances and 3 at the base of the hills between the right ones." I said explained as I drew some circles to use as entrances and stick figures to mark the dogs.
I then began marking distances. "The middle-left entrance is about 120 feet from either of the adjacent entrances and the right ones are roughly 90 feet apart. The area which will be our battlefield I'd say is 540 feet by 240 feet." I said as I made lines to mark the distances.
Lastly, I began to draw and explain the terrain. "There aren't any trees and very little grass, but there are seventeen boulders scattered around the area. Nine of them are close enough to make two walls with small gaps in between them about 180 feet away from the middle left entrance and eight more scattered around them; three on the left, and five on the right." I finished as I used circles that I colored in to make the boulders.
"Nice job Aeren, now all we have to do is make a strategy on how we attack." Howling Wind said while he gave me a hard pat on the back. After about an hour, Howling Wind called us together to hear the strategy he thought of. "We'll have Aeren and I get their attention by flying by them and flying back to the area just in front of the boulders while the rest of you stay back and support us with your magic and arrows. Cobalt, Stronghold; you'll be making sure that the diamond dogs don't interfere with them, got it?"
The others voiced their agreement while I looked at the map and found a way to make his strategy even better. "There's something I'd like to add though, let's have Defiant Mind, Burning Impact, and Cobalt Lance near the rocks on the left and the others on the right; that way we have an archer a mage and a melee fighter near each set of rocks."
"Good idea; alright let's get ready for tomorrow." He said as he went to prepare his gear while the rest of us did the same. I decided to only bring my sword and dagger with me and leave the rest of my gear high up in a tree. I spent the rest of my time before sleeping sharpening my sword and dagger to the point that it would probably dull the blade if I tried to make them any sharper. Because we were so close to the caves we set up a lookout for the night, nothing happened in the night but you can't be too careful.
The next morning we made our way to the diamond dog's caves to scout it out again for any changes in the number of them that were out there. It was a good thing we decided to wait before attacking; we saw them taking a group of ponies from one cave to another.
"Don't let any of them live." said in a voice that outwardly sounded calm, but inwardly showed a level of anger that could not be hidden.
"Gladly." I replied in a similar voice.
While the others got into position, Howling Wind and I started flying around and taunting the diamond dogs. I flew over to one of the cave mouths and shouted: "Come on out and play, you overgrown house pets." That got their attention as within a few seconds some of them came rushing out of the cave with a varied assortment of weapons. I flew about twenty yard in front of the rock walls just as Howling Wind did the same.
"You ready to kill these mutts?" he asked
"We're about to find out." I replied with a smile.
There were roughly 50 diamond dogs that came pouring out of the cave mouths and toward us, all of which were armed; though the degree of which they were armed was highly varied. A few were armed with high quality weapons such as long swords and spears, while most had weapons made out of crude iron. Others were making use of bones to use as clubs or a stick covered in spikes as a club; a few even had bows. Their armor was just as varied; most had no armor on whatsoever, while some were wearing rusty chainmail, leather, and even bones as armor.
'This is gonna be a tough fight even if we win.' I thought as I drew my sword
"Now!" Howling Wind shouted as soon as they got within range of the others. The first few dogs weren't quick enough and two of them were killed on the spot. When they got to us, about 5 of them were already dead and three more were wounded. The first one to get within striking distance tried to do an overhead strike that left him open to a cut across the side; the next one I made the first move and cut its hamstring so it couldn't walk but changed to a block to avoid a cut to my neck and countered with a cut across the chest.
I cut the arm off of one diamond dog and rolled into a diagonal cut to avoid it and took to the air to get a better view. About fifteen more of the dogs were dead but more were coming out of the caves. I looked toward the rocks just in time to see one of the dogs who had snuck out of the melee try to sneak behind the rocks. "Lookout!" I yelled as it was about to kill Silver Stronghold. He turned just in time to block and shield bash it then finished it with a thrust to the neck. I flew back down as fast as I could and used the momentum to kill four diamond dogs in one strike.
I continued to fight as hard as I could, but I was getting tired and one of the dogs managed to get a cut across my back only to be stopped by my chainmail. I quickly pivoted and cut the dog across the stomach, causing its guts to spill out. I narrowly dodged an arrow from one of the dogs and it went into the back of another; killing him instantly. I then charged the archer before he could manage to notch another arrow and cut him across the throat.
'This might be fun right now, but I have a feeling I'm gonna hate myself after this is over.'
I eventually ended up back to back with Howling Wind which seamed to cause the dogs to back off for a moment. "How many have you killed so far?" he asked as we prepared for them to make a move
"Eight directly, as well as causing friendly fire that killed another; don't know if the one who's arm I removed is dead, but if so that makes ten, how 'bout you?" I replied.
"Eleven or twelve, I think." Howling Wind answered as the diamond dogs started to move closer. "And it looks like were gonna have to kill a lot more before this fight is over."
"True, but I don't think we can win this; they seam to be trying to take us alive so they can add us to their group of slaves." I said as I raised my sword to strike.
"You noticed it too? well, I'm not going to make it easy for them." he replied as he did a quick swing of his swords to clear the blood off them.
"Me neither, but just in case, I'm not going to use my magic unless it's the only way to keep us alive." I continued as I cut one of the advancing dog's heads off.
"Fine by me, just don't get yourself killed." Howling Wind said as two of the better geared dogs came out of the crowd and looked like the wanted to challenge us.
"Heh, Likewise." I shouted as we both accepted the challenge. My opponent was a large Diamond dog in rusty half plate that was carrying an axe and a small shield. I was the first to attack; I tried to get a strike at his exposed neck but he was a bit quicker than expected and blocked my strike and pushed me away. I tried to get a few more strikes in before the dog decided he'd had enough and charged me, shield raised.
I used my wings to help me flip over him which caused him to have to stop for a moment to regain his balance. In that time I noticed that the straps on his armor were haphazard and starting to decay from age. I then decided to use that to my advantage. "Is that all you've got? If you moved any slower I could have walked out of the way!" I taunted as I sheathed my sword and drew my dagger
The taunt had the desired effect as the brute charged me again. This time I did a roll to the left to get out of the way, while he was recovering I used my knife to cut several straps from his armor which caused the right half of it to become so loose that he had to remove it. The diamond dog was really angry now as he dropped his shield and began to hold his axe in both hands.
The loss of weight from my attack and the shedding of his shield caused him to get a bit faster and he managed to get me in the side and punch through my armor a bit. The wound wasn't life threatening right now but it was bad enough that if I didn't get it patched up I'd eventually die of blood loss and it hurt like hell and gave me a grim reminder that I could very well die here. The diamond dog tried to cleave me in two but I dodged and caused his axe to get stuck in the ground; I wasn't in position to cut any of the fastenings so I started to attack his right arm.
'Guess I need to be more careful next time'
By the time the diamond dog got his axe out of the ground his arm was injured enough that, while he could still use it; doing so would cause extreme pain and make him lose a good bit of blood. It appeared that his injury only made him even more angry as he started to charge me again but kept swinging his axe wildly; That was a big mistake.
I waited until he tried to do an overhead strike and pushed the bottom of the axe before it got to the descent of it's arc causing it to fall behind the dog's head. The weight of the axe also caused him to fall on his back; I jumped on his chest and smiled. "You lose." I said as I slit his throat.
I turned around just in time to see Howling Wind finish his opponent by cutting off it's head. "Looks like you had a bit of trouble fighting that one." he said as he saw me clutching my side.
"You didn't exactly escape unscathed yourself." I answered as I motioned to the numerous small cuts all over his body.
"Well, either way let's finish the rest of these mutts and get the ponies out of there." Howling Wind said as he cleared the blood off his blades.
"I don't think that would be a good idea." came a deep voice from where the others were supposed to be.
The diamond dogs parted and allowed an even larger dog than the one I killed through. He was at least seven feet tall in a full suit of maintained plate armor. In his right hand he was holding a warhammer with a head about the size of my chest but it was in his left hand that got my attention. It was too far away to tell exactly what it was, but I had a good guess as to what it was.
'Please let me be wrong.' I thought to myself as the diamond dog's leader began talking again.
"Can't tell what it is? Here!" he shouted as he tossed the object in his hand. When it landed I realized in horror that I was right: it was Burning Impact's head.
"You Bastard, what did you do to the others!" Howling Wind shouted with so much anger that I nearly had to restrain him.
"Don't worry he was the only one we killed; but we won't hesitate to kill the rest if you don't surrender." the dog's leader replied
"Why should we believe a word you say?" I said in as calm a voice as I could manage.
"Because; even if they're all dead, you'll never be able to kill all of us." the diamond dog leader replied with a smile.
"He's right, even if they're dead, we need to keep the kidnapped ponies safe." Howling Wind said with a dejected tone in his voice.
So with that, we dropped our weapons; and surrendered.
After they took our armor and weapons we were marched into the caves and through several dimly lit tunnels to a large makeshift cell that was just a large hole in the rocks and dirt with a single iron bar door to get in and out . When we got there my nose was assaulted to one of the most horrible things I've ever smelled and could immediately tell how bad the conditions of the prisoners was. One of the diamond dog guards opened the door and threw us in.
"You wont be needing to worry about the filth just yet, after we get the pack and slaves together it's the whip for you two." the guard said as he walked off.
There were well over thirty ponies in the cell; all of different races and genders, I noticed that the unicorns had their horns broken to prevent them from using magic, and while the pegasi didn't have any injuries on their wings aside from those inflicted by the guards, they did have heavy chains on their legs to prevent them from flying should they get out of the caves.
"Does anyone know how many ponies are still alive here? I mean every pony that's being kept as slaves." I shouted
"What does it matter? There's no way we can escape; anyone who tries is either whipped publicly tortured." one of the other prisoners, an earth pony asked.
"It matters because we came here to rescue you." Howling Wind interrupted.
"We killed over fifty of them including two that looked like they were captains of these dogs, one of them wore half plate armor and was wielding an axe and a shield." I added. "We only surrendered because they captured the rest of our group."
"If that's true, then you're probably going to receive a much harsher punishment." said a blue Pegasus whose fur was covered with dirt and scars all along his back from several whippings. "Those were the chieftain's sons."
"Well if that's the case then we'd better find a way to escape." Howling Wind said.
"Hey, if their going to gather all the slaves and dogs in one place; that might be a good time to count how many ponies they've captured and also how many dogs we might need to fight." I said in realization of how good this opportunity was.
"Good idea, I'll count the mutts, you count how many slaves their keeping." he replied.
I nodded in agreement and began to wander around the cell trying to find anything useful and took note of how high the ceiling was. All I found were a few rats and a couple alcoves in the rock that were up relatively high up so I climbed up to see what was in them. They were about three feet wide, four feet tall and about six feet deep; the only things I found in them were a few rocks and some scattered bones from a decent sized creature which I hoped were just some kind of animal.
Just as I finished climbing down a group of nine diamond dogs came in and grabbed me and Howling Wind and told the other ponies to follow. They dragged us to a huge cavern that was much brighter than the other sections due to all the torches set up. As they did; I did my best to count the slaves. I had counted 56 which included members from each of the pony's races and even children by the time the diamond dogs had shackled us to one of the walls but knew there were at least 6 more.
"Normally we'd just torture you to death for killing some of my soldiers, but that would be a waste; instead I'm being lenient and only having you whipped." the diamond dog's chief said in a slightly amused tone. "Twenty lashes for each of them, and another ten for my sons."
The first of the lashes was more of a shock than painful. The second however was far more painful and felt like a combination of a cut and a slap going across my back. By the tenth lash there were several spots on my back where I could feel that the skin had been split and cut. By the fifteenth I began to focus less on the pain and more on what I was going to do the diamond dogs once I managed to escape. By the time they had whipped me twenty times I had already begun to form a plan.
'We have an army here and they just don't know it; all we have to do is arm it. With how many of them we killed there couldn't be more than 150 of them and I'm sure that at least a third of them aren't fighters. Once we manage to get some weapons we should be able to get out.'
I hadn't realized I was chuckling until I heard the voice of the dog who was whipping me "What's so funny? Losing your mind to the pain?"
"No, I'm just thinking of what I'm going to do to you once I get free." I replied with a smile; which caused the diamond dog to whip me harder.
By the time they were finished, I could barely stand and couldn't think straight so I didn't resist when they dragged us back to our cell. I must of fallen unconscious or asleep, because the next thing I remembered was the sound of a diamond dog ordering us out to mine for gems and to develop new tunnels.
Every move I made caused a great deal of pain as they led us through the tunnels again to a different area of the caves and gave us different tools with most of them being in poor condition; one of the pickaxes didn't even have a handle and was just the metal head; that was the tool they gave me. I just used it without a word and did my best to just ignore the pain. After about an hour of mining I found a small chunk of emeralds which wasn't even out of the wall for a minute before it was taken by the dogs and replaced by a loaf of stale bread.
I was very confused until one of the other slaves next to me explained; "They reward those of us who find any gemstones to try to get us to work harder, but any gems not turned over when they ask are rewarded with a beating."
"An effective tactic, it makes you want to find gems but makes you eager to give them up so you don't get hurt." I said with a slight chuckle.
Every few hours they would move us from one area to the caves to another more dirt filled area, and then back to a rocky area; probably to use the fresh and rested to break up the rocks and then have the exhausted ones to dig up the dirt. At some point they gathered us into one big room with four entrances which was made into a makeshift cafeteria; there weren't any guards on the inside of the room so I guessed that we were free to move around the room so long as we didn't leave. In the middle of the room was a female earth pony standing next to a large pot with some bowls next to it that the ponies were lining up to get food from.
"What's in the pot?" I asked once it was my turn to get a bowl.
"Pretty much the scraps of food the diamond dogs don't want and anything else they don't want; meaning mostly bones, half-eaten meat, and the occasional vegetable or fruit. It's not much, but it's better than starving." the cook answered.
After I got my food I sat down took a third of my bread and began eating; the soup wasn't that bad, all things considered, it was basically a bowl of chicken soup with less meat and only one or two bits of vegetable;the bread was a bit dirty and mostly stale but it still tasted good. After I was done eating I broke the other two thirds into pieces and gave them to the children who were in the room as well.
I wandered the area for a couple minutes until I found Howling Wind who had already gathered the others. "There you are; so did you find out how many ponies their holding captive?" He asked.
"I don't have an exact number, but its between 56 and 70." I replied. "How many dogs are there?"
"One hundred thirty seven, and sixty of them aren't even fighters, which leaves us with 77 that we might have to fight."
"Hmm, with those odds we only need to arm ourselves and we'd be able to escape; there'd obviously be a few casualties, but it's the only way I can think of to get out. Now all we need is a map of these caves and to convince the other prisoners to help us." I thought out loud. "But we still need a way to find or make a map without the guards knowing.
"And how do you suppose we are to do that?" Defiant Mind asked with an annoyed but curious tone.
"Actually, I saw a ledge about ten feet up right next to the cell door; the wall's completely flat up there so we could just use a stone and use the wall for our map." Scarlet Arrow interrupted.
"There we go; so from now on every day when we get back to the main cell we're to use a rock to make the map. By the way, in the next few days I should be able to get each of us a shiv; I found some bones in one of those holes high up in the cell." I said quietly.
"Right, just remember: we're only drawing a map and trying to get the other prisoners to go along with this; don't do anything that's too risky, we don't want to get caught." Howling Wind said as we started to move away from each other to avoid the guard's attention.
After a few more minutes had passed the guards told us to each go to one of the entrances to the room and separate into two groups each; after that they led us through some more tunnels and had us work for another few hours before sending us back to the main cell. As soon as I was back in the cell I climbed the side of the cell again and got up to the hole where I found those bones.
Once I was safely inside the alcove I began to break the bones until I had seven 5 inch pieces with slightly jagged edges. I then began to use some of the rocks to help make the edges smooth and within a couple hours of nonstop filing I had made two of the blades and used some of the tattered remains from my tunic and undershirt to make a grip for them so they wouldn't slip when held. After I was done wrapping the shivs I lined the other bone shards I was using in between them and climbed down to get some rest.
When I woke up it was time for us to do some more digging so I did by best to memorize the path we took. The group I was in was led down a path that went diagonally from the cells and then took a right; we then took a left to get to the area where we were supposed to dig, but not before seeing the armory to my right.
While I was mining I noticed that the guards would leave us relatively unattended for about fifteen minutes before checking to see if there were any gems to take and occasionally beating one of us to make sure we were working. After the guards left this time I went over to a group of three prisoners; two earth ponies and a unicorn.
"Hey, before the guard gets back." I said quietly. "Me and the others who were captured two days ago are thinking of a way to get everyone out of here; but we're going to need all of us to make it happen."
"And how do you expect to win? They have over a hundred soldiers." the unicorn asked in disbelief
"I can't tell you details yet because we haven't finished the plan, but I will tell you this; with how many of them me and my friends killed there's now exactly 77 soldiers left. Now, I don't know the exact number, but we have at least sixty ponies in these caves." I replied.
"Ok, we have the numbers, but that still leaves the question of how do we escape without any weapons." one of the earth ponies asked.
"I thought it was obvious, we just need to break into the armory and take some weapons." I answered with a smile.
"I'm in." the earth pony who was silent until now said.
"Same here." replied the other.
"I'm not getting involved for now; I don't want to end up with my head, or my whole body on a spear; though I won't tell anyone about your plans." the unicorn said
"That's all I ask; now let's get back to work before the guard returns." I replied as I grabbed my pickaxe up and began working again. By the time the guard returned we were back to work and he was none the wiser.
While I was mining I found a particularly hard spot in the rock so I began to put some extra effort into my strikes. after a few more hits I found out what it was. At first I thought it was a chunk of ruby, but after a couple more hits I saw that it was indeed a ruby, but it also had swirls of sapphire in it, and the whole gem was the size of my fist. By the time I had removed the whole raw gem from the rock it was almost time for the guard to return so I decided to go to him to save time.
"Stop! What you think you doing?" the diamond dog demanded, probably thinking I was trying to escape.
"I just thought you'd want to have this." I said as I held up the gem. The diamond dog reached into its pack and pulled out an apple.
"Oh no, I'm gonna need something a bit more substantial." I said as I noticed a familiar dagger on the guards belt. "Give me that dagger and key and you've got the gem."
"But...Slaves not allowed to have weapons and this is weapon place key." the guard said, honestly thinking the deal over.
"You don't have to tell anyone, I'd hide them so none of the ponies or diamond dogs could see them; and you could bring the gem to the chief saying one of the ponies didn't notice it so you brought it to him." I replied holding my open hand and the hand with the gem out to the dog.
"Here, but if I gets in trouble, I going to kill you" he said as he took the gem and gave me my dagger and the armory key.
"Now, I'm going to get back to work so we don't get in trouble." I said as I made my way back to the mining tunnels.
We continued working for about another two hours before we were sent to the meal room but this time I didn't have any bread so I had to turn the foals who asked away. After we were done eating we were sent back to our cell and left for the night. After the guards had left to the end of the path to stand guard; the others and I then began to work on the map.
"Alright, so let's get to work; I think it would be best if there's as little guesswork as possible, so let's only put down the paths we are sure of, agreed?" Howling Wind asked, to which we all nodded.
By the time it was my turn we had a general outline of the caves. "Alright, Aeren did you find any paths we should know about?" he asked me.
"No, but I did manage to find something better; take a look at these." I replied as I took out the key and dagger.
"Is that what I think it is?" Cobalt Lance asked in disbelief.
"If you think it's the key to the armory; then yes." I said in a joking tone.
"Alright, so now all we need to do now is add more details to our map and get the other ponies to work with us. Aeren, how are you doing on those shivs?" Howling Wind asked.
"I've made two so far but I should be able to finish the rest before tomorrow." I answered.
"Good, then I'll leave you to it." he said as we walked away and I went up to the alcove to continue with the shivs an hide the key. This time it only took me about half an hour to make a shiv and within two hours I had finished the rest of them so I climbed down and gave them to the others. The next morning, things went relatively the same, but this time we began focusing on the finer details of the cave. When we were sent to the food room we found the diamond dog's chieftain waiting for us.
"Ah good, you've arrived. I would like to personally thank you for all the hard work you've done. Without you, I'd never have gotten this beautiful gem." He said as he held up the gem I found the other day.
"As a way to show you my thanks I've instructed the guards to only make you work half as long tomorrow." The chief said in a loud voice that echoed through the room.
Me and the others added a good deal to our little map that night. Now, instead of an outline we had added the armory, the meal room, seveal of the tunnels, and the dog houses as I called the area where the non-soldier dogs lived. The next day we finished the map by finding the exits, the guard houses, and the chief's room so we decided to gather our support.
We began by simply trying to convince the ponies in the groups we were separated in; which wasn't that difficult as many of them were sick of these caves and wanted to see their families again. Within three days we had over forty of the prisoners on our side so after the guards had left and fallen asleep we decided it was the best time to make our move.
"Alright, by now most of you know about what we're planning, but for those who have not then you'd best listen now." Howling Wind said in a voice loud enough for all the prisoners to hear. "Tomorrow we are going to escape and bring you ponies home. I know not all of you live in Mountainview, but that is where we'll be headed should we succeed. For those of you who think we don't have enough ponies to escape: there are now only 77 of them and 67 of us. If you think we can't win because we don't have weapons; then your right, but we do have a way to get a weapon for each of us."
"Aeren, you take it from here." he said as he motioned to me.
"Like Howling Wind said, We're planning to escape and have a way to get weapons; what we intend to do is raid the armory and take weapons for each of us to fight with. A few days ago the diamond dog chieftain, had us work only half a day because of his new gem; I found that gem while mining and managed to trade it for a dagger and the key to the armory. our plan is ambush the guards when they come to take us away and take the keys to unlock the pegasi's shackles; after that were going to raid the armory and fight our way to freedom." I said doing my best to inspire the ponies who hadn't decided to help us yet.
"When the guards get here we're going to ambush them; there's a ledge over by the door where we've been making a map. We're going to have Aeren and a few others hide up there and wait for the dogs to come into the cell to take us away; that's when they'll jump down and get the dogs from behind. After we've taken them out we make for the armory, after we've armed ourselves we're going to take a less direct route to get out through the food room to avoid fighting as much as possible." Howling Wind explained. "I don't care if you don't think we can make it, but if you want to get out of here and see your loved ones again; then this is our best chance."
As soon as he was finished speaking there was a chorus of cheers that I thought for sure would have waken the guards.
"Good, now get some rest; tomorrow you're going to need it." he said as Cobalt Lance, Silver Stronghold, Defiant Mind, myself and two other prisoners got up on the ledge and given the shivs and my dagger.
"Remember to slice their throats not stab them; if you stab them the blade might get stuck because of their muscles contracting." I said quietly about an hour before the guards were supposed to arrive. We soon heard the sound of footsteps coming toward the cell that let us know when the dogs were coming.
"Time to work ponies; follow us to the tunnels." came the voice of a diamond dog, followed by the sound of the door opening, but when none of the prisoners moved the dog started to get angry. "I said to get to work! If you don't go now, we going to make you!" he said as the dogs; seven of them came through the door, weapons raised.
Still no response. "That's it; kill a few of th-" the guard was interrupted by my dagger severing his windpipe and both carotid arteries. The others killed their dogs but there was still one left so I turned quickly and charged the spell I learned and aimed at the remaining diamond dog who was trying to escape. Just before he passed the doors I unleashed my spell with a swing of my arm, sending a wave of razor sharp wind at the dog cutting it in half just below the right shoulder to the opposite hip.
"Alright, if you want to escape then follow us the armory; we're getting out of here, even if we have to carve our way through every dog in these caves." Howling wind shouted as he picked up a sword that one of the guards was using.
We had the other prisoners stay back a few steps and had our group take the weapons and lead them to the armory where we could all get weapons. We had Howling Wind and I lead the group up front, and had the others take up the rear to take care of any dogs that tried to ambush us. "Alright, we're coming up on the armory; there's going to be a couple guards so stay back while we take care of them." I said as we approached the armory.
There were only two guards by the door that were a bit more skilled than the other guards we fought so they took a little longer to kill than the others. Just as we finished them off we noticed that there were two more that saw us killing them and ran off to warn the other diamond dogs. I took the key out and unlocked the door. "I don't care if you're just a foal, everypony take a weapon; if you can swing a knife or throw a rock you can fight." Howling wind ordered as several of the ponies came into the armory and began to pass weapons and some shields to the other ponies.
As we were arming ourselves I noticed a small leather pouch on one of the shelves so I picked it up and looked inside; it was a set of slightly rusty lockpicks that were otherwise in decent condition. there weren't really any more doors that we'd need to deal with to escape but I took them anyway for when I actually could use them. I then grabbed a couple hand axes to use as weapons and made my way out of the armory.
"Alright follow us, we still need to get out and now they know we've escaped. Don't stop until you've made it to the mess hall!" Howling Wind ordered once we were all armed. We made our way through the tunnels trying to get to the mess hall but were stopped at one of the turns by a group of a dozen well armed dogs.
"Don't slow down, we'll handle them" Scarlet arrow shouted as we took the turn and she and two other archers began picking them off while a couple shield ponies blocked the way; preventing the dogs from getting to the archers. Once we arrived at the mess hall we were met by another, slightly large larger group of diamond dogs who were just as well armed as the others.
"It seems like we only fought their grunts when we were trying to get in." Defiant Mind said.
"Seems like it." Silver Stronghold said. "Shields! Stay back and guard the archers; don't let them touch them!" he shouted as the rest of us began to fight them head on. I began by sending a powerful gust of wind that sent the first few diamond dogs barreling in to a few of the others which allowed them to be easily finished by the ponies. The rest of the dogs however, were not that easy to deal with.
We continued to fight them for a few more minutes until the rest of them decided to cut their loses and run, which caused the ponies to cheer even though we lost a few of them during the fight. "No time to cheer yet; the rest of their fighters are coming from behind." said Scarlet Arrow who must have joined us during the fight.
"Where are the others?" Howling Wind asked her.
"They stayed behind to hold them off while we get out of here." She replied
"Then we better get going; leave the dead where they lay and we'll tend to our wounded once we escape, Let's move!" I shouted as we continued our escape. As we stepped over the bodies of the fallen I replaced the axes with a sword from one of the fallen diamond dogs. We didn't encounter any more diamond dogs and were almost out when Howling Wind broke of to the right and started down another passage.
"Where are you going?" I asked as I stopped him.
"As long as their chieftain's alive they're going to keep trying to get slaves, and he's tortured and killed several ponies. He needs to die. Don't try to stop me." He said, his voice showing more anger throughout his answer.
"Stop you? He's a monster; an animal that needs to be put down." I said as I let go of him. "If you weren't going after him, then I'd fight him by myself."
"I guess he would be easier to kill him if there were two of us." Howling Wind replied as we started to make our way to the chieftain's chambers. This time however we warned any diamond dogs that we came across to back away unless they wanted to die.
We soon made it to the chieftain's room; A large set of reinforced wooden doors with gems in the metal. "You ready for this?" Howling Wind asked, putting one hoof on the door.
"Probably not, but it's either this or let him go; so let's just say that I am, OK?" I answered.
"Ha! I feel the same way; Now let's go kill that son if a bitch." Howling Wind replied as we pushed the doors open. The first thing we saw once we got inside the room was the diamond dog's chief sitting on a stone throne surrounded by gems and gold. He was wearing the same armor as when we surrendered as well as a helmet; but this time he was using a battle axe large enough that a strike from it would likely end with whatever it hit being severed from my body.
"Ah, you've finally arrived; I had a feeling you two would be paying me a visit." he said as he stood up.
"You're smarter than you look; too bad it wont do you any good in a few minutes." Howling Wind answered, bloodlust practically dripping from his words.
the chieftain laughed in response. "You're brave, I'll give you that, and your strong enough that you've earned my respect; that is why I'm going to give you one chance to walk away, I'll let you and the other slaves go so long as you leave now."
"Sorry, but no thanks; I could have forgiven the fact that you whipped us, but I can never forgive the fact that you took these ponies from their homes and forced them to work in this hellhole." I replied, barely able to hold myself back from charging him.
"I feel the same way." Howling wind said as we got ready to fight.
"You kill my soldiers, freed my slaves, killed my only sons, and now you barge into my chambers and refuse my offer of safe passage? I'm going to enjoy killing you!" the chief shouted.
The chief charged us and tried to kill Howling Wind with a vertical strike and then batted me away with his fist once he missed and destroyed a chunk of the ground. He quickly turned toward me and tried to cut me in half at the waist just as I regained my balance which caused me to have to use my wings to back myself away from the strike and create a gust of wind for some extra distance.
"I'm surprised you managed to hide your magic from my men." the chieftain stated as he put his axe on his shoulder for a moment.
"It wasn't that hard; I just didn't use it when we first attacked on the outside." I answered.
"Very clever, but it won't do you much go-"
"Don't forget you have a second opponent now." Howling wind said as he buried a third of his sword through some exposed chainmail and into the diamond dog's waist.
"You little runt!" the chief shouted in rage as he tried to strike Howling wind with his fist.
The attack would have hit if Howling wind didn't let go of the sword and duck underneath it. While the chief was distracted by Howling Wind I used that time to knock the helmet off his head; only to be head butted immediately after doing so. As I lay on the ground I felt a sharp pain in my side and looked to see that the wound from the chief's son had reopened and was causing me to lose some blood. I looked up just in time to roll away from the diamond dog's axe that was coming down toward my head.
"You two are better than I thought; you might actually kill me, but I can assure you I'll be taking one of you with me." the chieftain said as he removed the sword from his side and tossed it back to Howling Wind.
The moment he caught the sword the chieftain charged toward him and body slammed him and sent him straight to the wall. The impact wasn't enough to kill him but it left him stunned for a moment and vulnerable to the diamond dog's next overhead swing. As the chief raised his axe I charged all the magic I could into my sword and unleashed it with a swing of my sword as his axe started it's descent.
My attack created a wave of razor sharp wind that cut the blade and some of the handle off the axe causing it to fall to the ground. The moment the chief realized what had just happened he threw the remaining piece of the handle at me as a spear, picked up the axe to use in one hand and charged me.
I managed to dodge the handle but only avoided a fatal blow from the axe which grazed my already bleeding wound and went across my stomach. As I landed I started to feel lightheaded and coughed up some blood. "Well, it seems I'm the one who's going to join you, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to stand here and bleed out." I said as I drew my knife and threw it at the diamond dog.
The knife caught him off guard and, though it didn't hit it directly; the dagger grazed his right eye causing him to go blind in that eye. "You'll pay for that, runt!" he said as he grabbed me and threw me to the wall.
As I hit the wall I felt a few of my ribs crack from the impact. I staggered to my feet just in time to dodge an axe strike aimed at my neck and managed to get a strike on the unprotected inside of the chieftain's elbow, only to get a kick to the gut that sent me sprawling across the floor.
Howling Wind charged him and started attacking the weak spots on the armor; the joints. He aimed mostly at the chief's legs to slow him down, but managed to a few small strikes all across the joints in his armor. While the Chief was distracted I managed to get a quick stab on the back of his ankle and get away before he could retaliate. I then charged another spell and created a gust of wind which knocked the axe from the chief's hand.
Howling wind and I used the loss of his weapon as the signal to just keep attacking. We managed to get several small cuts all along his body, and also cut the straps to his shoulder guards giving us another target we could attack. After that set of attacks my legs started to give out and I coughed up a worrying amount of blood.
"You alright?" Howling Wind asked as he got ready to defend us both from the chieftain.
"Not really, I don't think I'm going to be able to physically attack him any more, but I'll keep casting spells until I bleed out." I said as I handed him my sword so he could duel wield. "Just...make sure you kill him before I die so I know we won, alright?"
"Like I'll let that happen." the chieftain said as he charged us.
Howling Wind tried to stop him but the chieftain just knocked him aside and grabbed me by the throat before slamming me into the ground and knocking the wind out of me. The chieftain planted his foot and began to press on my already injured back, causing me to shout because of the pain.
"It's a shame you didn't take my offer; you could have been a great warrior, but you had to attack me. Oh well, time for you to die." the diamond dog's chief said as he raised his axe above his head.
"Still alive? That's surprising; I'll make sure to aim for your head next time." the chieftain said as he knocked Howling Wind away and turned to face me. "Wh- What are you?" he said as he moved into a defensive posture.
"What do you mean?"I asked with a slight shrug. "I'm no dif-" I stopped mid sentence to look at my arms. They were covered in orange-ish red scales on top and smooth yet tough beige skin on the undersides of them.
"I'm...not quite sure; but I think I might be part dragon now." I said as I continued looking at my new form. In addition to the scales; I now had a tail that, while I could move it, it wouldn't be much use for anything that required finesse. And while I still had a pair of wings they were leathery and batlike.
"You, a dragon? Hah! Don't make me laugh; you're no more a dragon then you are a diamond dog. Not that it really matters, as I'm going to take your head off this time." The chief said as he prepared to attack.
"Not if I have any say on it; hey Wind, can you still fight?" I asked the battered pegasus who had made his way to my side.
"Yeah, that last attack dislocated my shoulder, but as long as I can hold one weapon, I can fight." He replied.
"I'll distract him; while I'm doing that, you roll onto it an pop it back into place." I said as I got ready to defend myself.
"You're going to fight me without a weapon? My, you are a dumb one aren't you?" The chieftain said as he charged me.
One of the bonuses to having a 6" 3' hokey player as a friend was when he wanted to roughhouse I got to practice my Aikido on a large opponent; so when he charged me I simply moved out of the way and gave him a little push to knock him off balance and tried to sweep his legs out from under him. As my leg moved however, a trail of fire followed it; causing him to not only fall, but gave me an idea as well.
"Still think I'm wrong about being part dragon now?" I asked the diamond dog as he got up.
"I'll admit, I'm starting to believe you, but I'd rather die to you than to an equestrian noose." he said as he coughed up a fair amount of blood.
"That's fine, but your armor's going to act like an oven unless you take it off, but that would leave you open to our swords; not that I really care either way." I answered as Howling Wind handed me my sword back.
"Heh, I think I'll take my chances with my armor; it'll take a while for you to heat it up before it becomes any sort of threat." The Chieftain said as Howling Wind got back up; shoulder back where it belonged.
"Suite yourself." I said as Howling wind and I charged him at the same time. Howling Wind was the first to reach him; going for a thrust to the head, The chief dodged it and got away with only a cut to the cheek. I followed right behind with a swipe at the eyes, fire trailing behind the attack. He dodged my attack as well, but was off balance from the attacks and easily knocked off his feet by Howling wind.
I quickly tried to finish him while he was down, but only managed to get him in the side before he knocked me away. Instead of getting up however he threw his axe to the side and began to dig into the floor. "What's he trying to do?" I asked, not expecting a reply.
"I don't know, but I have a bad fea-" Howling Wind was interrupted by a strong rumbling followed by an explosion of stone and dirt from the floor. "Blasting powder! He's trying to bring the whole mountain down on our heads!" Howling Wind shouted.
"Then let's get going." I replied as another explosion caused a small portion of the room to collapse. We started to make our way towards the exit,but I went over to the pile of riches almost without thinking, grabbed the still uncut gem I dug up and ran back to catch up with Howling Wind,; nearly getting killed by some rocks in the process.
"You really had to risk your life for that gem?" he asked in an unsurprised voice.
"What can I say? I must have gotten some of a dragon's greed too." I said with a laugh. As we ran we joined up with a group of diamond dogs; most of them weren't soldiers however, they were women and children. We decided to ignore them and focus on more pressing matters; Like dodging rocks that would flatten us, given the chance.
We were soon in sight of an exit and raced towards it as fast as we could; just before we could reach it however, a giant boulder fell blocking it off. We were about to lose hope when the diamond dogs stepped in and turned it to rubble in a matter of minutes. As we made it through the mouth of the cave and into the light we were met with an unexpected situation: a large number of armored ponies with weapons drawn and pointed at us.
---END MUSIC---
"WAIT! We're friendly, don't kill us!" I shouted, raising my hands to protect my face.
"Lower your weapons! we wouldn't have escaped without them." Silver stronghold yelled as he and the others raced over to surround us.
The soldiers, who I now noticed were wearing gold armor instead of iron; listened and took the diamond dogs to a group of other ones surrounded by many more soldiers and told us we better see their leader, commanding officer who was in the second largest tent. When we arrived, there were four guards outside the tent standing watch who opened the tent flap for us.
"Ah, good you're here; I take it you're Howling wind and Aeren?" asked a slightly aged earth pony with a large gash across his forehead.
"Yes sir." Howling Wind said, standing at attention.
"Aeren; you look different than how the freed captives described you." the old soldier said with an inquisitive look.
"Yeah, I'll explain everything later but first I need you to explain a few things; like what should I call you?" I replied.
"Colonel Steel Targe." he answered.
"Alright then Colonel, how many of the ponies survived there were sixty-seven when we made our escape." I told him.
"We have forty-four accounted for and from what they've told us we have fifteen confirmed dead and eight still missing and presumed dead." he replied without much expression one way or the other. "Now it's my turn for a few questions. First: how were you captured?"
"There were just too many of them; Howling wind, myself and five others were sent to rescue the ponies who had been kidnapped from Mountainview; we underestimated their number and Burning Impact died because of that, though we killed around fifty of their soldiers before we were forced to surrender. It's probably what allowed us to escape." I replied, reliving the fight in my head.
"Is this True?" he asked turning to Howling Wind for an answer after he wrote down what I said who merely nodded in reply. "Ah, that explains all the blood and the few diamond dog corpses that were left when we arrived; would you please tell me what happened from that point until you arrived out here?" he asked.
We explained what had happened from the whipping, the mining and how they rewarded and punished the slaves, to our escape and our fight against the chieftain, and even how I died and came back; I did leave out the part about me being sent by some unknown power. "After that he dug into the floor and ignited some blasting powder to destroy the caves with everything in it, we wouldn't have made it without those diamond dogs who destroyed the rock in our way." I finished.
"Well, that sums things up; thank you for your time, but now I have some other matters to attend to." the colonel said as he stood up from his chair.
"Wait! what's going to happen to the remaining diamond dogs now that their caves have collapsed?" I asked honestly feeling sorry for the survivors who lost their homes.
"Ah, that; they're all to be executed tomorrow morning." The colonel answered as he left us in the tent by ourselves.
