10: A New Skill?...
Twilight was quiet as she walked next to Hunter and watched as he was bringing his own magic forward as he tried to put an illusion over Wrath. He had been able to create a small one on the minions head but he was struggling with a full-body illusion. She was quiet as he focused and a shimmer of magic went over the minion's form and then flashed. A low groan escaped the stallion as the illusion failed once more.
“How many is that?” He asked her.
“I wasn’t counting.” She quickly replied.
“Liar.”
“Twelve.”
“By the Netherworld.”
“Well, we need to get this before we try Teleporting.”
“Are you certain that this needs to happen first?” He replied.
“Yes. Celestia taught me illusions first as well.”
The Overlord growled and looked to the minion as he kept walking ahead of them. The minion was not facing him as he used the minion as a test subject. “What was the trigger for you?”
“Trigger?”
“Yes. What happened to get the idea to become clearer in your mind?”
Twilight was quiet as she thought. “Well. I wanted to show that I could do it. So I suppose I wanted to please my mentor.” He nodded in understanding. “What about you? What's the reason you want to learn illusions?”
“I do not need to please anypony aside from myself. I wish to learn it to accomplish my own goals.”
“Okay. So use that. Focus on what you really want the illusion to do. Sometimes if you focus on the reason behind it and your purpose it can help.”
“Hopefully. We have been doing this for four hours.” He replied.
“It took me a couple of days to finally get it right.” She responded and he nodded.
Hunter was quiet as he inhaled and then slowly blew that held breath out of his mouth. His eyes focused on the still walking Wrath and his magic began to gather in his horn. He could feel the power layering over his horn and he closed his eyes as he walked, his stride fluid and assured. He projected his will and his desire onto the magic he held and then sent that wish to Wrath and he opened his eyes as it layered over the minion and he forced it to bend to his will, commanding the power he held to answer him. His eyes closed once more as the magic flashed and he shook his head to remove the bright spots in his vision.
“You did it!” Twilight shouted to him. “Well, you did if you meant to turn Wrath into a wolf.”
Hunter looked ahead and saw a black dire wolf walking ahead of them. “I’ll be damned.”
“That’s perfect. I am not very good at making anypony look like a wolf or anything except a type of pony.” She complimented him. “So well done.”
Hunter sighed and a small smile tugged at his mouth. “Finally. Was beginning to think this would take days or weeks.”
“It would never take that long. You’re a strong Unicorn. So the longest it would have taken would be a couple of days. Since you know your own magic well and are very good at using it, I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be too long. A day at the longest.”
“How can I learn it faster than you did then?”
“You are a lot older than I was. You have been using your magic for a long time so you know it well. I never thought to ask about a trigger or a reason. You did so you are well versed in magic and most of its mechanics.”
“Ah. Fair point.” He admitted and watched as the illusion remained. “Now how do I dispel it?”
“The same way you started it.”
“So enforce my will on it?”
“Basically.”
Hunter looked to the illusion and his horn lit as he reached out with his magic to the dire wolf illusion. It faded out as he wished it to vanish from the minion’s profile. “Hell of a lot easier to remove the thing than it was to create it.”
“It usually is,” Twilight admitted to him as they walked. “I always asked why it was simpler to remove something than to make it and Princess Celestia said that was an answer I would discover as I learned my magic.”
“Still no answer then?”
“Nope.” She replied with a chuckle. “But I figure if I make something then I can remove it and then its mine again. So if an illusion is a force of action then removing it is a lack of action. It was just a simple thought and it was gone right?”
“Correct.”
“So there’s a piece of the answer.” She said to him.
At his side, Dezhara walked in pace with him. Her training had progressed and she had learned several more commands under his training over the last several days. The wolf was well aware of her placement and knew to remain at his side unless commanded by him to do otherwise. He had ensured that the wolf knew to also take commands from Twilight if the situation needed it. The wolf barked at him and bumped his leg. An action that made sure he knew of her location at all times.
“She’s doing really well,” Twilight commented as the wolf quieted.
“She is getting there.”
“The only problem is that you are using Dracoran to give her commands.” She chided him.
“She knows the normal ones as well.”
“She knows them but she doesn’t really answer them.” Twilight groaned at him. “Can you just teach me the words for her?”
Hunter was quiet as he considered. Dracoran was a language that was older than the Netherworld Tower itself. He had never used it publicly until recently. The dragons no longer required him to speak it to them and had allowed plain speak. “I will consider it.”
“Why not?”
“It’s an Ancient Language. For most of my life, I spoke it to the dragons when they refused to speak in any other tongue until I was fluent in it. They are protective of it and it is a language older than the Tower.”
Twilight blinked in surprise. “You’re fluent in it?”
“Yes. Among other languages. Gnarl made sure that I knew many tongues to ensure that I could not be lied to and left out of a conversation.” He replied.
“Wow. I can’t speak any others. That’s impressive.”
“I never thought anything of it. It was just how I was taught and how I was raised.” He commented to her. “It never struck me as odd. My father knew a few languages as well and he would speak to me in others but he did not know all of them.”
“Did he speak Dracoran?”
“Not well. Sorkeno taught him enough to get by, but he was in no way fluent in it.” He informed her. “Dracoran is a language is not easy by any means. It’s nearly impossible to master due to the wording and accents that are buried within it.”
“So one word can mean a few things?”
“Yes. The meaning depends on the accent, pronunciation, and tone. It’s by no means an easy task.”
“Wow. Well, I just want the words for her to stay, sit, down, and oh by Celestia save me.”
Hunter barked a laugh and looked to her and then to the wolf. “There is no command that long. The word for help is Selen.”
“Sele-ann?”
“No. Sel-en. S-e-l-e-n. It’s spoken the same way it sounds. One of the easiest words thankfully.”
“Why?”
“I asked Sorkeno once and he said that it was not a word that is often used by a dragon. So it was created by dragons that had begun to work with ponies. They realized that ponies had trouble with the more complex plea for aid. So they created a simpler word. The other commands I use for her are simpler as well. While others are more complex. It depends on what I’m asking of her.”
“Oh.” Twilight’s horn lit and a scroll appeared in her magic with a quill. She wrote out the word and its meaning and then held it in front of him to make sure she had it correct. He nodded and she smiled as the scroll vanished once more. “Thank you. I’ll learn the others as we go then?”
“That will have to do for now.” He looked up as the wagons continued along the trade route.
Dezhara was close by as he looked around them and his ears began to flick to listen around him. In front of him, Wrath began to do the same. Hunter angled his body and left the protection of the wagon train and stepped onto the side of the path in the tall grass. Twilight joined him and waited as he looked around them. His body began to spin in a slow circle as his ears led him. He paused as the ground began to shake and the vibrations reached him through his hoof boots. His magic gripped one of the boots and yanked it off his hoof. He moved as he set his hoof to the ground and the vibrations grew stronger as he pinpointed the location it was coming from. He put the boot back on and his gauntlet roared calling the minions to his side.
“Hunter?”
“Stay back.” He called back to her as he squared up to the forest on their right side. “Keep the wagons moving, Twilight. Lead them ahead and I will join you there! They know where to stop for the night.”
“But?”
“I will join you later. If needed I will send Wrath with orders. Then lead them to the city and get within its walls!” He yelled to her and his magic pushed her away from him and back to the wagons. “Lead them!” He roared to her, his red eyes blazing as she finally nodded to him, her wings extended and she flew for the lead wagons.
He watched as the mare vanished and he trained his gaze on the forest once more. The minions at his sides screamed and lunged against the firm command that he held over them. Wrath jumped to his back and waited for his own commands. Dezhara stood at his side, snarling in the direction of the edge of the forest.
Hunters mind slid into place and he felt a calm come over him and his mind focused on what it needed to do now. He had commanded the minions that were needed to him while he still left plenty to guard the wagons and guide it to their destination. As the ground shook under his hooves he waited, his eyes narrowed as he waited.
Twilight flew as fast as her wings could carry her as she raced for the front wagons. His words rang through her mind as her breath tore from her as she streaked past her friends. She faintly heard them call out to her but she ignored their cries. His words kept her flying faster. She saw the front wagons and she angled to land in front of them. She dropped the last foot or so to the ground and looked to the servants that were in the front, setting the pace for the rest of the caravan.
“How close are we to the Empire?” She asked them in a rush.
One of them stood close with her and looked thoughtful for a moment. “We should arrive late morning tomorrow.”
“Okay. Hunter…The Overlord has said that we need to speed up and either get within the walls of the Empire or our next camp. If we speed up can we keep the pace to the Empire Gates?” She questioned, her mind racing as she considered the logistics of her own request. ‘He thinks this far ahead for everything? I can barely keep my own thoughts straight.’
“If we increase our pace we could reach the Empire before midnight, Princess.” He replied.
“Do it.” She replied and paused as they stared at her. “What is it?”
“With all due respect Princess Twilight, you are not our Lord.” He said to her, his tone firm but he didn’t wish to upset her.
She stared at him and nodded. “He’s back there addressing some type of threat and told me to get all of you to safety.”
“I understand that, Princess. But without anypony to confirm you’re...”
“How dare you!” A voice cut through the air behind them.
Twilight looked back to see Soft Touch approaching. Her head was high as she looked to the stallion addressing Twilight. “Our Lord and Master gave her the task to protect us all. You would fail willingly?”
The stallion backed up a step at the mare’s harsh tone. “But without his…”
“Silence. You know as well as I do that if our Great Lord were to allow any pony to assume command in his absence it would be Princess Twilight. She is the only pony here with a title that is, while less than his, close to his own.” She snapped at the other pony. “Now I suggest we do as she commands and strives to please our Master with our understanding and willingness to protect what is his.”
The stallion almost whimpered as he looked to Twilight. “A…As you command, Princess.”
He fled from the mares and began to gallop along the sides of the caravan as his voice rang out, commanding them to greater speed. Twilight stood off to the side with her handmaiden and after a few moments her mind caught up with what had just happened and she looked to the other mare.
“Thank you.” She whispered to her.
“Of course. Our Master would not allow just any pony to assume command. I saw the minions leave us and I knew that something was happening. When you flew past us I knew that you had your own task to complete. It is my job to help you in any way that I can.” She smiled back. A glint of mischief went through her eyes as she ducked her head slightly. “Plus, he’s a pompous ass that likes to think he’s the boss and is, oh, so, important. So it was quite fun to put him in his place.”
Twilight barked a laugh as she hugged the mare and thanked her again. “I don’t know what he is facing off against but I don’t think it’s anything small. He said to either get to our next camp or get within the safe walls of the Empire.”
“Must be a great threat for him to command that.”
“Is there anything out there that could warrant him to make that request?”
“There are many things out there that can do great harm to a caravan such as ours. Any ideas what could…”
They paused as a roar shook the air. Twilight heard servants scream and the dire wolves howled as she spun to look behind them. Beside her Soft Touch gasped as a serpent of enormous proportions reared from the trees. Twilight leaned back on her haunches at the sight of the creature.
“By Celestia!” Rarity cried out as they reached the other mares.
Her friends stood with her as she watched the serpent look down to where Hunter must have been. Twilight looked to the servants and saw many were on the verge of panic and the wolves were becoming unmanageable. “Lead them!” Hunter’s voice rang through her mind and she shook her head before she looked to the friends and handmaiden.
“Soft Touch!” The mare looked to her. “I want this caravan to start moving again, get those lead ponies in line. We cannot panic and falter now. Spike, please help her any way you can. Applejack. Can you keep the caravan in a line, Rainbow help her.” Spike jumped to the handmaidens back and gripped her mane. They nodded and then raced off to do as they had been asked. “Rarity. Keep the wagons from overturning and help the servants with them. Fluttershy, try to get the wolves moving forward. I know it’s scary, but they need you to help them.” She said to her shy friend, who nodded and flew off to her task.
Twilight got to the front and took to her wings and hovered above the caravan. The serpent took to the air and then plunged against the ground and began to tear at the grounds around it. Twilight panted and then shook her head as his voice cut into her once more. Urging her to lead them once more. She remembered Luna teaching her to use the Royal Canterlot Voice and she pulled in a lungful of air to use it now.
“Move Forward! Keep to your lines and listen to your leaders. We will protect you.” She roared to the caravan. To her surprise, many stopped to look to her.
She kept her wings under her and maintained her altitude, allowing ponies to see her and know who was calling to them. As they saw her they heard her friends and other servants calling them to move ahead. As the commands reached them the ponies in the traces threw themselves into the harness and began to speed up, the lead ponies already moving into a controlled gallop. She looked as they passed under her and she allowed herself a moment before a scream sounded ahead of her.
She looked down to find a dire wolf attacking a pony. Her horn lit and the wolf was driven into the ground by the force of her magic. She landed in front of it and gripped its neck in her hoof as Hunter had done and held it there with the help of her magic. It went limp and submitted to her and she allowed it to stand once more.
“Go. Drive it forward. Keep up with the rest of the wagons.” She encouraged the ponies and pushed them ahead of her.
She went back into the air and began to look to the center lines of ponies and wolves and watched for any issues with them. She could hear Applejack and Rainbow yelling to the edges and keeping the lines. Rarity was standing atop one of the wagons and was watching the contents of the wagon. Her magic keeping it all together. Fluttershy was tending to the other wolves and Twilight was glad to see that they were falling back into line and were keeping up easily with the faster pace. Soft Touch was jumping from pony to pony and urging them to speed up and maintain their spirits.
Twilight inhaled once more to assure them of their safety. “You are all going to be safe. Your Overlord is keeping the serpent away from you. He is still protecting all of you!” She yelled at them.
She was surprised when a cheer went out and a smile tugged at her mouth. She went back to the front and began to help the lead wagons to pull its load. They looked at her as she dug into the dirt roads to help them. The lead wagons set the pace and Twilight wanted it to be able to move easily.
As the caravan got into swift motion the Alicorn mare made sure the first wagons could keep the pace and took to the air once more. She looked out over the wagons and found they were moving smoothly. Her friends slowly rejoined her and she landed off to the side of the road as the caravan rumbled along at a steady pace.
“Did you see that thing?” Rainbow asked as she landed.
“Hard ta miss.” Applejack replied with a nod. “What was it?”
“Some kind of serpent. But it was huge. Even the Everfree doesn’t have anything that big. Not even Steve.” Fluttershy added in.
“That thing dwarfs him in width alone. Steve is pretty thin, while that thing was thicker than a tower.” Twilight replied.
“It’s a Sky Serpent.” Soft Touch said aloud as she and Spike joined them.
“That means it can fly?” Rainbow asked.
“Yes. It has the ability to fly as well. Though they cannot fly very high or for very long. Their large size makes it harder for them to stay aloft for longer than a half-hour or so.” She replied.
“So. Since the Overlord is taking care of it does that mean it’s staying on the ground?” Pinkie asked.
“It might. They aren’t very common so it’s out of the ordinary to see one attack. They are a bit more reclusive than most creatures but they do come out to attack wagons every now and then.”
“I didn’t see any wings. So how does it fly?” Twilight asked.
“It doesn’t have any wings. I think it has a lung within it that holds air and when needed it can use that to fly short distances.” She informed them.
“It’s huge though,” Spike said to her as he jumped to Applejacks back then to Twilights.
“Just because it’s a large size doesn’t mean that it can’t fly. Dragons are huge as well and they can fly. Some dragons can fly without wings.” Twilight said to him as he sat quietly on her back.
That’s true. But wow. That thing was huge. Do you think it was bigger than Sorkeno?” Spike asked.
Soft Touch shrugged. "I am not sure. I have only seen the Lord Dragon a hoof-full of times so I cannot gauge his size properly.” The handmaiden replied to him.
“Will he be okay?” Pinkie asked.
Twilight looked to the advancing caravan and then back to her friends. “I hope so.” She said to them. “Well. If he doesn’t think he will be okay, then Sorkeno will come to help. So he should be fine.” She said to them. “Come on. We need to keep them moving and make sure that no pony gets hurt. We should be able to reach the Empire Gates by late at night.”
Hunter stared up at the serpent as it broke free of the trees and towered over him and the minions with him. “I had hoped I was wrong.” He muttered to himself.
The minions screamed and taunted the monster as it stood over them. Hunter formed the commands in his mind and his bow came to life as his magic dropped it into his hooves and he set an arrow in place, ready to attack if needed. The serpent raised into the air and he roared for the minions and his own wolf to follow him as he leaped back, out of range of the serpent’s body. He backflipped and broke into a gallop as soon as his hooves hit the ground. Wrath held onto his armor and the stallion waited as the serpent’s body hit the ground. He slid to a stop and reared back. His body pulled back the bow and he breathed out as the rune bow became light and the runes skittered over its surface and onto the arrow.
He loosed the arrow and it thudded deep into the serpent’s eye. It screamed and thrashed as the minions reached it and jumped to attack its thin scaled skin and began to tear at its flesh. Hunter knew the anatomy of the creature and knew that its skin was thin compared to dragons and the minions would be able to tear through it with their weapons. Hunter commanded the green minions to attack and their poisoned weapons dug deep into the skin of the monster. Hunter loosed another arrow and it thudded into the neck of the serpent. Blue flame licked over the serpent’s skin and began to burn it. The poison from the rune bow leeched into the animal's flesh as well. Hunter remained just on the outside of the battle, keeping his eyes trained on the monster as the minions chipped away at its health. Its blood coated the ground as it thrashed and killed its fair share of the minions and their mounts.
Hunter pulled back and called his remaining troops back to his side. Dezhara limped up to him and waited for him to call out his next commands. He had over one hundred still remaining as he looked out over the minions and mounts at his side. The serpent lashed out at the group but missed as it reared back as far as it was able to gauge its next move as well. Hunter waited for a moment as he reached for another arrow. And then looked back as his hoof caught nothing from the now-empty quiver. A silent curse rolled off his lips as he looked back to the monster. It reared up once more and Hunter breathed out, keeping the sound of the blood pounding through his body from overwhelming his ears. He reached up and drew the bowstring back and his horn flared to life. His magic came to life and he breathed in holding the breath for a moment as he breathed out. An arrow of purest black formed in the path of the breath he released. The fletching formed from the same black as the arrow itself. The feathers gave off a mist of darkness. The arrowhead shone through as blue flame materialized in place of a metalhead. The flame blazed as he closed his eyes and he stepped forward as the minions went eerily silent. No sound came to his ears as he opened his eyes once more.
His eyes glowed golden as he aimed the black arrow, and then pulled his draw further back, the bow creaked slightly under the long draw. His shoulders began to ache as he held the draw waiting for the right moment. His breathing stopped as he held the draw. The eerie silence continued as the serpent roared and lunged to slam its jaws on the Overlord that stood against it. Hunter’s eyes blazed as he released the breath and loosed the arrow. It cut against his exposed cheek and a black mist poured off of the arrow, blue flame leaving a streak through the air. Hunter closed his eyes as the arrow released. They opened once more as he heard the sound of the arrow hitting a tree behind the serpent. He watched as the light left the beast’s eyes and its body fell to the ground a mere foot away from the Overlord and his army. Black mist billowed off of the creature’s body as it began to burn. Wrath leaped up and tore one of the creature’s fangs out of its mouth. It fell to the ground and the armored minion dragged it back to the Overlord and dropped it in front of Hunter's hooves. The minions bowed low as he set the bow against the ground and leaned into the weapon, allowing it to hold his weight for a moment. His eyes faded to red and he breathed slowly.
“It’s over.” He whispered aloud and called on the hidden blue minions. The blues flooded the site and dragged the bodies of the dead minions away from the still burning serpent. As they resurrected the dead minion's others came to him and crawled over his form. Healing small wounds that he had gained during the fight. He bid one to help Dezhara. The dire wolf had done her job and kept the serpent from trying to go after him. His gauntlet roared to life and the renewed army once more stood at his side. Every minion brought back from oblivion and once more stood at his side, ready for another battle. The stallion looked back to the road and then to the tree that held the blackened arrow. He looked to it and his horn covered the arrow. He summoned the arrow back to him and the tree died within moments of the arrow is removed. He felt the power of the arrow go back to him and he sighed as he spun to follow the speeding caravan. Hunter began to trot but then slowed after a few strides.
“She won’t let any harm come to them. Perhaps, for once. I’ll take it easy.” He said to himself and the minions stayed close to him as he slowed to a walk and began the journey to rejoin the wagon train.
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That was great.
9369776
Thank you!!
More don't let overlord to be vassal of equestria let him have that teritory for his people not equis also (sory for language) f**ck you princess celestia
9371345
Nope it will remain separate. He’s not the type to allow anything less. Lol
9372447
Thank God cause celestia id a snake using twilight just because teritory that tirek ruin doesn't mean she have that back i mean i really wish you make overlord declared war again equestria and his alied but accept for you if you want it or not
9372960
Currently, this story is not slated for any warmongering. But it is something I have written before and might throw up here as a side tidbit. :)
9372988
So what happen next
9373275
Will find out in the next chapter!
9373278
Just make sure he still be a king not be toy by equestria
9373361
I will do my best. 😎
9373367
That mah boy
9395134
Okay, I hope you find the weasely chapter that went missing.
I am liking this story overall.
9395137
Unfortunately...It got lost...I am so going to have my Desktop turned into a paperweight for this! UGH!! The system shut down and the only chapter saved was for my Witcher story...I'm gonna go crawl under a rock for a while...Excuse me.
9395216
Let me guess...
Windows 10 update?
That damn OS did that to me more than once. Only because of compatibility issues I don't chuck it away and stick to Linux.
I offer you my sympathies in that regard.
9395258
Yeah...dodged that damn thing for years...and it got me...where the hell are my tabs!?!?!? Oh man...So not cool.
9395266
I've learned something ever since going with Win10, and it is the following:
The moment it starts going slow as molasses, with great ram usage and hard drive activity ... chances are, it is downloading an update if not outright installing it.
There are options to force Windows to notify you when an update is ready for installation instead of having the bloody OS do it on its own - that's why I managed to associate those signs with Windows being a bitch.
If ignored, it'll reset automatically in ten minutes. Never again - now I'm neurotic about making sure to keep my stuff saved. At least you didn't lose your PC like it happened to me.
A botched update bricked the PC, and even left the hard drive with a bizarre clickin' sound that doesn't happen when used as a slave.
PS: firefox's tab session manager is a godsend... as long as it remains compatible with the current firefox.
9395296
Delightful... If I didn't hate MACS so much... Bloody hell. GOnna have one of my roommates look into it. Gonna drive me completely insane. I know I need to upgrade the RAM and the video card. That's been planned already but gods damn. That just fries me! Ugh! LMAO! Its funny now that I have calmed down and my roomie is telling me to stop yelling and cool off. It's bad when the guy who hates drinking of any kind is handing me a LARGE glass of wine. Tells me just how far off the rails I went...
9395301
Don't go to the side of Apple, their table manners suck monkey balls... and they charge for your soul while at it too.
And your roommate is a bro, enjoy the wine man ... and as long as you know how things went, you should be able to recover the lost writing or at least get approximate of what you originally had. It sucks, but to avoid issues like that in future:
a) gdocs is your self-saving friend, or
b) be like me and be neurotic about keeping tabs on the OS whenever it starts to slug down your machine, saving like crazy in the process to avoid data loss.
Then there is:
c) write it on a notebook, then type it down to the pc. This one is time-consuming, but you'll have a guaranteed physical copy of your work to date.
9371345
He has no true claim. He should withdrawn it.
This is a really great fic so far, I find myself enjoying it more and more. I do hope Overlord doesn't get suckered by Celestia.
10170485
Oh no he's not that easy to manipulate. Least I hope I desgioned him not to be.
thin
Bloody fine chapter! This would be a amazing Displaced story
11089117
Fixed. Thank you for pointing it out.