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// Chapter the First: Waking Up 
// Story: Not Out Of The Woods Yet 
// by Kiernan 
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Venny's head hit something hard, waking the little unicorn from his slumber. He looked around, instinctively trying to find out what hit him, only to find that he couldn't see anything. With a soft light from his horn, he found that his nightmare had been real. He was tied up inside a sack, and by the wobble he was feeling, tossed in the back of a carriage.

Venny was a gifted young unicorn, having breezed through magic kindergarten without any real effort. Like most children, he wanted to be like his parents, and his father was a very powerful wizard, and self-taught. Wanting to be just like him, Venny had already studied practical magic use and fine control, under the watchful eye of his mother's close friends. He was light brown in colouration, with a dark brown mane and his mother's green eyes. He looked more like his uncle than his father, but nopony really noticed.

Suddenly, the carriage came to a stop. Venny put out his light and stayed quiet. He didn't want to risk aggravating the ponies that had foal-napped him. The sack he was in was lifted into the air and presumably slung over a shoulder. He lost his balance immediately, as he no longer had a flat surface to rest against. The bag shifted around with every movement, and he eventually found a comfortable position lying on his back.

"What happened to you?" called a female voice, following the loud squeak of a poorly oiled hinge. 

The bag shifted, meaning the carrier had shifted positions. "You never told me the little one had teeth. Little brat nearly ripped my throat out..."

This statement was met with laughter from two other voices, one male and one female. The male spoke next. "What's the matter, Slim? Can't handle a wee toddler?"

A third and final male voice came from behind Venny. "He was a flurry of teeth. The kid's no joke. Don't underestimate him."

"You, too, Red Line?" said the female. "What kind of pansies are you? Scared of a little colt..."

"Did you at least manage to leave the note?" asked the male that had already been inside.

"Yeah, obviously we left the note," grumbled Red Line. "We want to be paid, don't we? Fat load of good the foal-napping would be if we didn't leave a ransom note..."

"Good. Now dump the kids in the back. When you're done, there's a sandwich in the fridge for each of you."

Venny felt movement again as he was carried to what must have been 'the back.' He was dropped onto a concrete floor, and heard another bag being dropped nearby. Suddenly, there was a ripping sound as a very large, very threatening knife was stabbed through the top of the bag, only just missing his mane. Light flooded in as the bag opened and he found himself in an olde-timey prison cell. 

"Back against the wall!" ordered the knife-wielding stallion, pointing with the tip of his blade. Not wanting to find out what the blade felt like, Venny scurried back against the wall as ordered. Pressed against the cinderblocks, he watched as the second bag was carefully opened. Slowly, as the hole became wide enough, the knife was stowed away and he bag was torn open.

The instant the hole was wide enough, Perry leaped out of the bag, clamping his sharp teeth back onto the green stallion's shoulder, tearing through the bandages with reckless abandon. Once again, it took the efforts of both stallions to peel him off, and when they had, the injured one dashed out of the cell as fast as he could. The red one, who was now holding Perry firmly by the neck, inched to the door with the fighting colt bashing away at whatever his tiny hooves could reach. They were nowhere near as damaging as his teeth had been.

When he reached the door, Perry was tossed into the middle of the room, and the door was quickly slammed shut before he could scramble to his hooves. Blood dripping from his maw, he snarled at his captors, keeping his head low and his movements slow and deliberate. He was perhaps the most terrifying three-year-old in all of Equestria. 

Once the stallions left, Perry stood back up and walked over to Venny. He looked over his adoptive brother silently. Seeming to be satisfied, he lay down next to him, his eyes fixed on the door.

Venny looked down at Perry's neck. A fresh bruise was beginning to form right beneath his jaw. Slowly and gently, he placed a hoof on the colt's shoulder. "Are you alright?" Perry nodded in response but said nothing. His eyes stayed on the door. "Don't worry, Per. Dad's going to save us. He's the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria. Don't you worry."

Perry wasn't listening. He'd been in a cage for two thirds of his life before Kai had come to rescue him. He'd bitten Kai, too, but Kai had returned with an offering of food. He was a good pony. 

Kai wasn't here, though. Perry felt bad about the way he'd originally treated Kai, especially now that he'd given him a bed and three meals daily. He couldn't ask Kai to come to his rescue again. Not this soon. This time, he would earn Kai's love. And to do that, he'd rescue his real son. 

Finally, his gaze broke from the cell door. He turned to look at Venator again. His older brother looked back at him. He took a deep breath, and snorted a puff of smoke into the air. He was supposed to be half dragon, but he had yet to figure out how to breathe fire. All he had to prove this claim was a set of sharp teeth. This wouldn't be an easy escape.

A few hours passed. Venny had taken to pacing along the wall, but Perry had remained stationary. His eyes were locked on the door, but his mind was aglow with a conversation with his inner voice. With all of the information available, he was trying to devise a plan for escape. Unfortunately, there really wasn't anything to work with. If he could breathe fire properly, He could melt the lock. These bars were iron, but the latches inside the mechanism probably had some aluminum pieces. Then there was a wooden door against the far wall that had a barred window. It looked like it lead outside. If he could melt the lock and burn a hole in the door, they could be outside. But then what? 

The front door opened, and a young mare came inside. She was a sharp yellow with a deep blue mane and eyes. She didn't say a word, instead just slipping a tray under the door and tossing through the bars a small loaf of bread and two half-pint cartons of milk. Then she walked out, turning off the lights on the way.

The sun was still up for another hour, so they could see well enough to eat their dinner. It was the first food and drink they'd been given all day. Venny tore the bread in half and sat down next to Perry. Not a word was shared between them, but they did enjoy each other's company. It was all they could do at this point.