//------------------------------//
// Episode 2: Getting to know you 
// Story: A Bond Across Dimensions 
// by AuraMastermg 
//------------------------------//

Every dragon that was in the mountain base were all tied up and handed to the authorities. They went inside the base and freed every slave that was in there.

It was strange to them, one minute they were enjoying a nice evening and next they received an anonymous message telling them of the situation and location, then when they arrived they found all the dragons and their leader unconscious with a note attached to said leader saying:




"These soft-scaled lizards had been operating a slave market.

If you look in the dungeons you will find all the captives. 

I took out each dragon in the base so you should have no trouble.

-A




Above them in the trees, Aura was spying on them and chuckled to himself. "Man, nothing makes my day better then acting as divine justice towards those who are twisted."

Still in his hold, Mystic was now crying softly and clung on to Aura's jacket, which was now extremely soaked. Aura knew that he had to get this colt home, and he had a few words to say to the one who sold him in the first place.

But that would have to wait, as judging from the position of the moon it was about somewhere between 8PM and 9PM, and that would mean that the area would be infested with nocturnal predators real quickly. Normally Aura would have no problem with that, but since he had to watch over the little colt he had to think about his safety first.

So he leaped from tree to tree keeping himself out of sight until he could find some shelter and rest up for the night.

A few minutes later he had discovered a small cave and jumped down to inspect it. He brought his hand up then closed his eyes, his hand then glowed and a small ball of light zoomed through the cave system, checking for anything that would be considered hostile.

Aura opened his eyes and took a breath of relief. "Good, its inhabited. This should suffice til sunrise."

The Spacial God walked in and placed Mystic down. Then Aura took off his jacket and draped it over the young colt before he went to start a fire to keep them both warm.

The sound of tapping and grinding slowly woke Mystic up as he opened his eyes to see the figure that saved him doing something with what appears to be chalk.

Aura turned around and gave him a warm smile. "Oh, sorry if I woke you up." He resumed his focus on making... what was he doing actually?

Mystic slowly moved towards Aura and got a peek at what he was doing, and from what it looked like, he was making something that resembled a magic circle, but looked more complex as it had many foriegn symbols that were unknown to the young colt.

"Are you... trying to use magic to start a fire?" Mystic asked curiously.

Aura kept his main focus on the circle as he added the finishing touches. "Something like that. I guess you can say that it's magic, but it's a bit more complicated then that."

"What do you mean by...?"

Mystic didn't even hav time to finish his question, once Aura finished the circle he then slammed his hands down on it and the circle started to rotate and glow, then at the center, a bonfire materialized out of thin air. Mystic's eyes grew wide with wonder as he saw what was transpiring before him.

Here, a species unknown to him, was using magic. But at the same time it felt different compared to all the magic that Unicorns used, not that he would know since he didn't have any magic.

He wondered, could he might possibly be able to...

"That. Was. Awesome!"

Mystic went closer to the fire and felt it's warmth wash over him like a blanket. "I've never seen this type of magic before!"

Aura chuckled at the colt's excitement. "Well like I said, it's more complicated then that, what I used was called Alchemy."

Mystic tilted his head in confusion. "Alch-emy? Isn't that potion making?"

"That my small friend is just the tip of the iceberg." Aura stated then pulled out a book titled 'The fundamentals of Alchemy: From potions to constructs.'

"Alchemy is much more then making potions. But it is a combination of science and magic. Basically, it follows the laws of equilvilent exchange and powered using rituals or using the small traces of magic around us." He explained then picked up a stone on the ground. "Take this rock for instance, it may seem like an ordinary stone at the moment, but to an Alchemist, it can be anything, sort of."

Aura concentrated and the stone started to morph into different shapes as if it were putty. "You can mold it into any shape you like or even," The stone then turned into sand and started to spill off his hand. "Turn it into something of equal value. Probably not the best example since stone eventually turns into sand but I don't want to bore you."

But according to the wonderstruck expression on the young colt's face, he was anything but bored, in fact, he was intrigued.

"Anyway," Aura got up and stretched before heading out of the cave. "I'm going to forage for some food. I won't be gone long." He walked out of the cave but stopped at the exit and turned Mystic. "Oh, and I almost forgot, my name's Aura Kaiser. And you?"

'Aura Kaiser. So that's his name.' Even though he had just met him, something about Aura just gave him a sense of calm, one that tells him that everything will be okay.

"I'm Mystic Knight. It's nice to meet you too."

The two gave each other a small smile even as Aura went into the woods to forage for food. Mystic saw the Alchemy book next to him and immediately began reading it's contents. And immediately, he saw one part that peaked his interest. "As long as you use a magic circle you don't need magic?" Suddenly a spark of hope lit up in Mystic as he read more and more about the lost art of Alchemy.





An hour later, Aura had returned with a large bag. Normally, he would of hunted for something like a boar or caught some fish, but since Mystic was a pony that meant that he didn't eat meat, so Aura had to go search for things like fruit, nuts and mushrooms, as well as some firewood to keep the bonfire going. 

He dropped the bag and stretched his back, which made a popping sound. "Sorry it took a while, it's a bit hard to forage during night time."

Aura then noticed that Mystic was fully focused on reading the book. He just smiled and let the colt be. 'The curiosity and innocence of youth. Still though...'

The God went over and tapped Mystic on his shoulder which gave the colt a fright.

"Enjoying the book kid?" Aura asked.

Mystic was in a panic and closed the book then handed it over to Aura. "I'm sorry Mr. Kaiser! I read your book without permission!" Mystic bowed apologetically and prepared for a scolding.

But it never came.

"What are you doing?"

Mystic opened his eyes and saw Aura with a confused look. "Kid. It's okay if you read my book, in fact, you can keep it. I have like, 4 more back where I'm from." Aura pulled out an apple and handed it over to Mystic. "I know it's not much, but it should suffice until morning."

Mystic blinked a few times. For once, somepony other then Gladius didn't scold him for doing something like this. He took the Apple and continued to read the book further and further.

Aura smiled and started to add more wood to the fire then he skewered some mushrooms and fruit on a stick and roasted them over the fire as if they were marshmallows.

"I saw what happened to you."

Mystic perked up and looked at Aura. "Pardon?"

"Your father, he sold you. I only got a glance of him and I could already tell that he's a real piece of work. Far worst then any noble I've met so far."

The colt looked down with a saddened face. "I guess he finally had enough of a defective colt like me."

"Defective? That's a bit harsh isn't it?" Even though Aura was focused on cooking, he was paying close attention to Mystic, clearly concerned about him.

"Well it's true." A few tears dripped from Mystic's eyes and splattered onto the pages of the book. "I'm a Unicorn with no magic, I'm smaller then the other colts my age, I'm terrible with a sword or spear, and to top it all off, I'm physically weak." His tears intensified as he broke down. "I'm not worthy of being a member of the Knight family! They are all strong, brave and inspiring! While I'm anything but that, I'm not good at anything!"

His nose then got a whiff of something fruity making him look up to see Aura holding a second skewer for the young colt. "And who told you that garbage, your deadbeat of a father?!"

He put the skewer in the colt's hooves and patted his head. Then he sat right next to him and took a bite of his dinner. "Here's what I've learned from my many years of traveling: The only person who can tell you what you want to do is yourself. And sure we may stumble when trying to find our true purpose, but no one is perfect, and no one should ever tell you what you should be."

Aura took another bite of his food and smirked. "Not to mention, it definitely doesn't seem right to let someone as arrogant and heartless like your father tell you what you can and can't be."

Aura's little speech did cheer Mystic up a bit, but not by a lot. "Like I said, I'm not good at anything. And I've tried, but I always just mess everything up." Mystic mumbled, twirling his dinner in his hooves.

Aura looked at the book and had an idea. "Well what about Alchemy, have you tried that?"

Mystic quickly turned his head and started to stutter. "W-W-Well I-I-I..."

He felt Aura's hand pat his head. "You can never know until you try."

Once Aura was finished with his food he threw the stick into the fire and sat in front of the entrance of the cave.

"Besides, I think you would make a great Alchemist." He smiled as he said that. "You'd better get some shut eye, we get up early tomorrow so that I can take you back home, and give your father a piece of my mind."

That last part that Aura said made his fist tightened. "I'll make sure that we are safe during the night, just have to place a barrier over the entrance so that nothing hostile sneaks up on us."

Mystic didn't hear that last part. All he heard before his mind went blank was that Aura thought that he could make a great Alchemist.

Him, out of all ponies, the most scared, weak and useless pony who doesn't have a sliver of magic in his body. But how could he...

That was when he realized just what Aura was talking about before. All his life he believed that he couldn't do anything just because his father said so, and that he never allowed him to try new things saying that it would be a waste of time. His father wanted him to be a member of the royal guard just like the rest of the family before him. 

But what if he didn't want to be a guard? What if he wanted to follow his own path?

As all these thoughts filled the young colt's head, he slowly drifted into sleep with a light heart for once.

Aura went over to Mystic and placed his jacket over him to keep him warm. "Sweet dreams Mystic."





The next morning both Mystic and Aura were now following the path back to south Canterlot where the Knight's mansion was located. But getting there was easier said then done.

As the two keep getting blocked by many different obstacles. But Aura was able to get the two of them through each one thanks to his body structure.

And after a few hours of walking and awkward silence, Mystic finally decided to ask something that has been on his mind ever since he saw Aura.

"So Aura, I have a question for you."

Currently Aura was writing something down in a notebook but he still paid attention to Mystic and his surroundings. "Well then, ask away."

"I've never seen a species that resembled you before. What are you exactly?"

Aura took his time to think of a suitable answer for the colt. He couldn't tell him that he is a God but at the same time he didn't want to lie to him, so he just had to give him a little bit of information without revealing his title.

"I'm what you call a Human. A bipedal being that specializes in adapting to any environment. I'm not surprised that you don't know about us since there's only a handful of us." He explained as best as he could. 'Hopefully he bought that.'

"A Human?" It then clicked for Mystic. "I'd thought your species seemed familiar!"

'Wait, there's actually Humans here? Well that makes things easier.'

"But I'd thought that Humans usually live in more secluded areas of the world, like hidden grottos or isolated islands. Why are you out here?" Mystic continued to ask questions.

"I did say that I'm a traveler. I've learned that the best way to learn is to experience it yourself in the open world. There are so many things that you can't learn from books alone you see." Aura looked up at the sky and remembered all the adventures he had exploring the Multiverse.

"Is that how you learned Alchemy?"

Now this is where things get tricky. While he did learn how to preform Alchemy from a different dimension, he also learned it from his mentor a long time ago. He had to think about this carefully.

"Well something like that." He started. "I started Alchemy as more of a hobby, so I was basically self taught. As I developed my craft I experimented on many new things until I got it right. But I did learn about a few methods of Alchemy from my travels. But like I said in the cave, I don't want to bore you." Aura mentally sighed in relief that he got through that.

"I see. What about..."

"Hold that question there Mystic." Aura grabbed into Mystic's tail and prevented Mystic from accidentally walking off a very steep chasm.

Mystic looked down and gulped. "T-Thank you."

"No problem." Aura's gaze sharpened as he gripped his sword on his back. 

"We're not alone here."

Mystic quickly hid behind the God's leg and looked around.

From the bushes a manticore jumped out and roared fiercely, the force of the roar was so strong that Mystic had to hold on th Aura's leg so that he didn't fly off.

But Aura was unamused by the beast. Instead he felt annoyed that the beast sent saliva all over his face and on his glasses. He was so unimpressed that he decided to ignore it and start cleaning his glasses.

"Classy. Very classy there." He remarked and put his glasses back on, his eyes giving off a glint. "Either you leave us alone, or I'll have to declaw you myself."

The manticore lifted it's claws ready to slice Aura up but the God just stood still and Mystic began to panic.

"Aura, I don't think you should antagonize it." The colt warned.

"Trust me." Aura looked down at Mystic with a small reassuring smile. "I can handle this."

The God's eyes connected to the manticore and the beast suddenly stopped. It's danger senses were ringing like crazy right now, as if every fiber of it's being was telling it that it was in danger.

"Leave, now." Aura's eyes glowed as he continued to stare down the feral beast.

The manticore's instincts took over and it fled while making whimpers of fear.

Aura sighed and calmed down. "At least that thing was smarter then those dragons. I did not want to fight so close to a cliff."

Mystic was dumbfounded. Aura had just scared off a manticore with his gaze alone. He could only name a few ponies who could do something like that.

"Now then..." Aura turned to the edge of the cliff and cracked his knuckles. "Let's make a pathway for us. No time to make a circle so I'll just have to do this the old fashioned way."

He then clapped his hands and slammed them onto the ground. The ground then started to shake and from the face of the cliff a beam of earth grew out and connected to the other side of said chasm.

"That ought to do it." Aura then stepped onto the newly created pathway without a care. "We'll be there soon. So let's not waste daylight!"

Mystic was in shock. So this was what Alchemy could really do. He was able to terraform the chasm and create a pathway without any problem.

Mystic suddenly stopped and had a determined look in his eyes. "Aura."

The God looked back, a bit confused to why the colt stopped. "Yeah, what's up?"

For the first time in his life, Mystic looked up with determination plastered on his face. "I decided what I want to be." He planted his hoof down and held his head up high.

"I want to be an Alchemist like you! I want to show everypony that even though I don't have magic, I can be one of the greatest mages on all of Equestria!" Mystic cried and gave Aura a smile.

"And it's all thanks to you. Thank you for showing me that I can choose my own path."

All Aura could do was smile himself. He walked towards Mystic, kneeled down and placed his hand on the colt's head. "And what if your father tries to tell you otherwise?" Aura asked, fully knowing the answer.

"Why should I care about what he thinks?! It's my life and I get to choose what I want to do with it!" He said proudly.

Aura nodded and stood back up. "Alright then." The two finished crossing the created bridge and saw the town of south Canterlot.

"Now to tell him yourself."