Oh Dearest Father of Mine...

by ExaltedFiction

Chapter VIII - The Endless Desert II

Oh benevolent defenders of all sacred life, send us your warriors to defend us…

Apollyon uttered a groan as he heard a series of echoing voices distant chanting. Rolling onto his arm, Apollyon felt his body sink into the bed, and with his eyes clenched shut, he witnessed nothing but darkness.

Oh eternal protectors of Ponykind, send us your Angels to shield us from the creatures of darkness…

The man rolled back onto his back, subconsciously planting his forearm above his head.

Angels of the Empress…

Please come…

Please answer our prayers…

As those voices and distant chanting ceased, they were soon replaced by the sounds of light thunder, compelling him to slowly stir awake. Upon cracking open his eyelids, he was met with blurry purple storms above, emitting brief flashes of light inside itself.

Letting his vision adjust, clearing up and allowing everything to be defined, his eyes shot open as his mind processed what he was staring at; The ever recognisable untamed tamed skies from that desert.

He moved to sit himself up, only to feel an immense amount of weight on his stomach keeping him on the ground. Upon looking down, his gaze fell onto Hope who was peacefully slumbering on his belly, uttering a delicate snore underneath that hat of hers.

With Hope on his stomach, his eyes turned to his arm before glancing back to the sleeping filly. He, without a doubt knew that getting up would be pointless, thus he remained still, letting out a distraught sigh as his eyes turned to the burning stars in the skies.

This place again?

He thought, looking to the left, his sight encountering his staff and the aura encompassed Mantle that seemed to interact with the numerous strands and particles of pure psykana that merely floated all over the place.

Clearly this place is significant but in what way?

Squinting his eyes at the Mantle, observing how it touched the surrounding psykana, keeping it in its hold before letting it reign free elsewhere.

What is this place to you?

The response of the Mantle only came in the form of a series of faint unintelligible whispers. These whispers filled his mind for a few moments before ceasing entirely whilst simultaneously allowing its aura to die down, forcing the surrounding psykana to disappear into thin air, leaving no trace of the cosmic energy to terrify the filly.

Alright then… keep your secrets…

The man looked towards the purple skies, taking note of their subtle transformation into skies that wept blood. Holding out his palm towards the crimson skies, the surrounding psykana slowly drifted towards his hand, taking on a single glove-like form as it consolidated with others of its kind.

Now it looked like Apollyon was wearing a second layer of translucent glowing skin over his hand.

I wonder how long it will take for Hope to wake up… Wait… does time even exist here?

As he retracted his hand back, placing it flat on his chest, his mind flashed back to his last involuntary visit but specifically of the moment when he decided to sleep.

Not having anything else to occupy him, he mentally shrugged, clenching his eyes shut, blinding him from all that which existed around, he focused on the rhythmic beating of his heart, as they mixed with the sounds of his breathing, all this while the distant thunder went off in the skies.

If time even mattered here, Apollyon must’ve laid there long enough to last a millenia, focusing on nothing but those three things alone. But as he laid there, the sounds of nearby voices once again echoed in his mind.

A maledicto in tenebris, o misericors, Anima, libera nos.

(From the curse of the darkness, oh merciful Anima, deliver us)

Ex plaga in vento urente, o misericors, Anima, emundet nos.

(From the scourge of the blight, oh merciful Anima, cleanse us)

Ex pericula belli, o misericors, Anima, protege nos.

(From the dangers of war, oh merciful Anima, protect us)

A blasphemia: cecidit, o misericors, Anima, et salvabit nos.

(From the blasphemy of the fallen, oh merciful Anima, save us)

A maiestate tua lux, o misericors, Anima, amplecti nos.

(From the majesty of your light, oh merciful Anima, embrace us)

These voices, whoever they belonged to, were mixed with distant sobbing, some muffled while others were being expressed without concern. Their voices alone carried emotion strong enough to feel from the atmosphere. The pain, the sorrow, the grief, Apollyon could feel it all. But their strengthening desperation and their wavering hope were to only bring about their ruin at a quicker pace.

But before Apollyon could look deeper into their pain, he was interrupted the moment he felt something small pushing against his right shoulder. His eyes shot wide open, allowing himself to bear witness to the blurred accursed skies above him once more.

Letting his sight adjust, becoming distinct and clear only after a few moments. His gaze shifted over to the right upon feeling another set of pushes against his shoulder.

His sight fell upon Hope, who stood there in her flowing and somewhat dirty white sundress and her oversized straw hat.

The filly seemed to be curious about something, for her head was cocked to the side as she stared endlessly into Apollyon’s eyes.

“I-is something wrong?” Apollyon asked, prompting himself up with an elbow.

The grey filly didn’t react immediately, instead taking a few moments to gather her bearing before retrieving her pencil and notepad from the confines of her hat, using both to convey a message to the human as she hoofed it over to him.

‘You were talking in your sleep’’

“I was?” He questioned skeptically, receiving a nod from Hope before she started to write another message.

‘You kept whispering something’

Apollyon let her words sink in for a moment, looking into her eyes, “What was I saying?”

Hope merely shrugged, shaking her head before conveying another message.

‘Something other than Equish’

“I see… How long was I out for?”

Again, the filly shrugged.

‘I’m not sure. I tried to wake you up before but you didn’t’

“Oh, well, I’m up now right?”

A small gentle smile formed on the filly’s face as she revealed to him another message.

‘Yep, and that’s what matters!’

Apollyon mimicked Hope’s smile after he read her message, shaking his head and chuckling along, “Sure, that’s what matters…”

The man rose to his feet once he was finished, his gaze looking out towards the boundless desert that stretched far beyond what his sight could see alone. After uttering a sigh, he dusted the sand that clung to his clothes before slowly stretching out every part of his body.

Hope watched the man with a pair of curious eyes, observing how his muscles stretched as he slowly leaned to the sides or pulled on his limbs, bringing them closer to his torso.

The grey filly looked down at her own body, comparing it to the human stretching in front of her.

It was then a light bulb lit up above her head.

Hope stood up on her hind legs before attempting to copy the human’s actions. However, as one would expect for a quadruped, her attempt to stand on two legs was met with a failure. For the moment she tried, she immediately lost her balance, stumbling back a few steps before falling onto her back completely.

Dazed for a brief moment, the little filly’s eyes began spinning in dizziness, thankfully she was able to shake her head out of it before standing up on all fours upon recovering.

As she stood there with shaking legs, the sounds of snickering entered her ears, compelling her to look in the direction of the source.

There, she witnessed Apollyon glancing away once her eyes fell upon him, she watched as Apollyon snickered into his hand, attempting to muffle the noise. While the man attempted to regain his composure, he voiced out his pain the moment struck on the side of the head.

“Ow!” He exclaimed, rubbing the side of his head before looking in the direction of which his head was struck.

There, he witnessed a steaming filly who was sitting on her rump, crossing her legs and puffing out her cheeks, pouting as she looked away.

Apollyon’s eyes were drawn to the sand he stood upon, finding a small notepad covered in the dry desert sand. But despite getting hit by the fuming filly, he uttered a brief chuckle before crouching down to pick up Hope’s only method of communication.

Upon retrieving the notepad from the confines of the coarse and rough sand, he walked over to the pouting filly of who turned away from the man.

Apollyon could see the steam emitting from her head, noticing how it slowly rose into the air.

Amused by her antics, a smirk formed on Apollyon’s face as he held out his hand, notepad within his grasp.

“Here… you seemed to have… ‘misplaced’ this.”

The filly paid no attention, slightly shifting away from the human before pointing her to the sky.

“Heh, very well then.” Apollyon chuckled, laying the notepad onto the brim of her hat, “I’m very sorry for laughing at you, Hope.” He said, clearly catching the interest of as she opened one of her eyes and looked up at the man.

“If you need something, I’ll be standing over there,”--Apollyon gestured in the direction of the staff and the Mantle--”I’ll be trying to find a way out of here.”

After giving the filly a pat on the head, Apollyon rose to his feet, spinning on his heels before making his way to his staff. Upon retrieving the relic from the sand, his gaze quickly shifted back to the filly, of who seemed to be watching the human with interest for she no longer wasn’t in her pouting position. Instead she was standing on all fours and facing Apollyon.

She - of course - was surprised at the sudden attention, uttering out a gasp before quickly returning to her pouting position.

“Smooth Hope, real smooth…” Apollyon remarked, receiving a ‘hmph’ in return making him chuckle.

Exploiting the opportunity while he had it, the bottom of the staff was lightly tapped onto the sand, sending out a miniscule almost invisible shockwave that knocked all the sand off, cleansing the taint off the figureheads. With that done and dusted, the relic was then embedded within sand before the Mantle’s chains were released into Apollyon’s care.

The man's eyes were set upon the pages of the Mantle, idly wandering the edges of the hill he and Hope had conquered, flipping through and reading the ancient texts it contained.

Though as Apollyon occupied himself, Hope was intrigued by his actions, her head tilting to the side as the filly observed his interest in the book. But as Hope stared at Apollyon’s ceaseless actions, the mind of the filly was torn elsewhere the moment she heard a series of grumbles emitting from her belly.

A frown grew on her face as her hoof met the surface of her belly, feeling it rumble and quake as her stomach roared once more. Hope’s jaw clenched as her eyes traveled up to the figure of Apollyon, pondering on whether to bother him or not. But the moment another roar resonated throughout the desert, Hope reluctantly got off her rump - feeling a little weak on the legs - before meekly walking towards the occupied man.

Apollyon - who was so preoccupied in the book - failed to notice the approach of the little filly, continuing to flip through the Mantle’s contents before his gaze turned to the burning stars above.

Hope’s hoof slowly reached out for the man’s leg, but as it neared, the filly hesitated, hovering her hoof just a few centimetres away from Apollyon’s calf. A droplet of sweat formed on the filly’s forehead as she remained in that position, continuing to stay as still as possible.

The filly choked up, eventually lowered her hoof to the sand. Turning about as quietly as possible before raising a hoof to walk away. But her stomach betrayed her, letting out another roar that forced the filly to wince at the sound.

“Hope?” Apollyon called out, making the filly’s hair stand at attention, “Is something wrong?”

The filly swallowed the lump in her throat before turning around to meet the glowing gaze of the towering human, but much to her surprise she was met with a knelt-down man with a warm comforting smile upon his face, “Did you need something, little one?” He asked gently, his book under his arm and his full attention on the filly.

Hope uttered a distraught sigh, retrieving the notepad from the brim of her hat and writing with a pencil she retrieving from the insides of said hat. Once the filly was done writing, she hoofed the notepad to the kneeling man.

‘I’m hungry’

“Hungry eh?” He replied, receiving a series of shameful nods from the filly while her ears flattened against her head, “Hey, what’s wrong, little one?”

As the human’s question hit the filly, her gaze went to the side, staring at the sand that was under the guise of her shadow.

“Little one…” He said softly, his alluring voice slowly drawing the attention of the filly, “Was it because you said you were hungry?”

The filly stared endlessly into his eyes, letting his question hang in the air for a few moments before eventually looking away and answering Apollyon with another series of shameful nods.

Hope winced as the human uttered a sigh and witnessing him shake in his head in disappointment from the corner of her vision, “Hope…” He said, making every part of the filly’s body tense up at the sound of her name, “Why would you be ashamed for asking for food?” He asked, handing the notepad to her in hope that she would construct a message for him.

But instead of writing a message down like Apollyon had hoped, she instead placed the notepad into the confines of her hat before looking away in shame.

“Don’t want to talk about it?” Hope nodded, making Apollyon sigh disappointingly,“Very well, I understand.”

Upon hearing that, Hope’s eyes widened slightly before her gaze shifted to the human, “But if you ever want to talk about it, then let me know… ok?” Apollyon sincerely said.

The sheer warmth of his words warmed her beating heart, forcing a smile upon the filly as she gave the man a nod.

“Come on,” Apollyon smiled, patting her on the head, “Let’s find you something to eat.” Finishing his exchange, Apollyon rose up, returning the Mantle to its respective place onto the staff, retrieving the relic with both hands once the Mantle was chained.

Hope watched the actions of the man with interest, noting on the way he held the staff in the grasp of his hands; front and centre of his body and hovering slightly above the sand.

“That way,” He said, pointing in the direction to the left of Hope, “I can see a desert oasis over those dunes. There’s a small desert house in the area as well, likely to be food for you there.”

Hope’s eyes traced the man’s finger, looking ceasely into the boundless desert, but upon seeing nothing, her gaze shifted back to the man, shrugging once his eyes were laid upon her.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see it once I climb over that fourth sand dune in the far distance.” Apollyon said, receiving a perplexed look combined with a specific gesture of her pointing to herself, “Oh you’ll be on shoulders, little one. You’re starving and you’re very young, so you should be conserving your energy, not burning through it with a journey like this.”

Hope held up a hoof in an attempt to protest, but was cut off the instant Apollyon spoke, “This is non-negotiable. I’d prefer it if you didn’t collapse on the way.”

Seeing no chance of winning, Hope relented, her hoof slowly lowered before her rump met the sand. Her forelegs were then raised up towards the untamed sky while her eyes locked onto Apollyon’s own.

Apollyon chuckled at the sight, proceeding to crouch down in front of the filly once he made his way over to puffed up filly, “You know, you might as well make yourself a balloon if you’re gonna keep puffing up your cheeks like that.”

Hope growled lowly at the human’s suggestion, looking away while keeping her forelegs raised.

“Up you go.” pollyon chuckled, lifting her up onto his shoulders upon placing his hands under her forelegs. Though as much as the filly wanted to keep her cheeks puffed out, she reluctantly began to silently laugh - making the same movement and facial expressions as anypony else would make while laughing - as she was lifted up from the desert sand.

“Comfortable up there?” Apollyon asked, exploiting the sole movement of his eyes in an attempt to see if Hope was good or not, “Tap my head once for yes, twice for no.”

After a few moments of feeling Hope shift around on his shoulders, seeking to find that perfect position, she eventually gave Apollyon a light tap on the head, “Good, now hang on tight, I’m going to climb down this steep hill here, alright?”

Upon receiving another light tap on the head, a smile formed on Apollyon’s face as the digits of his hands wrapped themselves around the body of the staff, keeping the relic front and centre of Apollyon while he took the first steps of this short journey.

Approaching the edge of the hill, Apollyon took absolute care as he began to make his way down, sparing no effort in keeping his balance. All four of Hope’s legs wrapped themselves around Apollyon’s head and neck respectively, tensing up the moment Apollyon started to go down.

“Be careful little one, you’re still an Earth Pony. You could still strangle me with your legs if you tried.” He warned, feeling a leg leave his head before her hoof met the top of his head, “Just don’t squeeze too hard and it should be fine, little one.”

Apolloyn could feel the sheer body warmth of the filly reaching out to him, spreading from his neck to his head as Hope squeezed tighter, reacting accordingly everytime Apollyon stumbled a bit. Apologising before continuing on, the journey down became somewhat smoother as the man started to get used to Hope’s added bodyweight.

Eventually Apollyon made it to the bottom of the hill without much of an incident, uttering a sigh of relief left his mouth the moment his feet met the flat desert plains. Hope’s legs then loosened themselves, granting Apollyon’s heating skin with a wave of fresh air that felt absolutely divine to him.

“Is everything alright?” He asked, a hint of worry in his voice, rubbing a hand along the front of his neck, “Didn’t scare you too much right?”

Hope removed a foreleg from Apollyon’s head, inserting it into her hat and pulling out her notepad to yet convey another message to the man, holding the object in front of Apollyon’s face once she was done writing.

‘No, I’m fine’

“That’s good” Apollyon smiled, continuing his journey to the next set of dunes ahead, “You know, now that I think about it. Where did you learn to read and write, little one?”

‘Home’

“Oh, your parents taught you?”

‘Mostly my mum, daddy was always busy at work’

“Ah, and speaking of, where are your parents? Did you wake up here alone?”

The atmosphere in the air dropped the moment Apollyon asked that question, even as he walked, he could feel the filly hesitate to answer the question for there were long pauses in between her writing.

‘When I woke up you were sitting still with your eyes closed for some reason, and as for my parents I’m not really sure where they are. But I hope they’re around here somewhere”

“Haven't your parents told you not to speak to strangers?”

‘Yes. But my daddy also said the symbolic heads of your staff are really special and those who have them are good ponies’

“Oh, is that so? Do you know what they are?”

Apollyon heard some gentle humming as he waited for an answer, but was surprised the moment Hope conveyed a message that didn’t contain the answer he sought.

‘Uh, I kinda forgot, but from what I remember from the top of my head is that, I think, both the phoenix and double-headed eagle is considered sacred to a group of hoomans’

Apollyon stared at the answer that hung in front of his face, letting it hang there for a moment before his eyes shut and his head shook from side to side, “You know, you’re a lot smarter than most… creatures I’ve met, little one”

‘I read a lot of the books that daddy brings home, mister hooman’

Apollyon stared at the message hanging in front of him once more, letting a few moments pass as he took those thoughts in.

“Scientia est potentia, parum unum,” (Knowledge is power, little one) Apollyon whispered, a pleasing smile forming on his face, “Praesidio bene” (Guard it well)

‘Did you say something?’

“A special phrase spoken among humans… Well… one particular group of… kleptomaniac humans.”

‘What is the phrase?’

Apollyon then gladly enlightened her curious mind with the phrase, even explaining the word he used to describe this particular group of humans.

‘Why are they called that?’

“Well, let’s just say that property always seems to go missing whenever they show up.” Apollyon then scoffed, chuckling for a brief moment, “Bloody Magpies…Claim it in the name of the House my a- ow! Hey!” He exclaimed, feeling a small hoof strike him on the head, forcing him to stumble slightly.

Swiftly recovering, Hope avoided the burning stare of Appolyon as he attempted to get a look at her, exploiting both his head and eyes to do so, failing miserably in the process.

And just as Apollyon opened his mouth to scold her, he was cut off as Hope hung another message in front of the man’s face.

‘No bad language Apol’

In an instant, his eyebrow was raised, “Apol? Seriously?” He deadpanned, receiving a light tap on the head, compelling him to groan annoyingly before releasing a sigh of defeat, “Very well, little one. You will have it your way.”

Upon hearing those words, Hope’s forelegs shot towards the sky in a cheerful manner, her face beaming at the defeat of a human.

But despite the filly’s victory, Apollyon could only smile as his gaze turned to the desert sand, observing the content movements of the filly’s shadow as she pumped her forelegs into the air.

Heh, kids…

---

Time - if it existed here - passed as Apollyon journeyed with Hope to the Oasis that was hidden beyond mere sight. The blood weeping skies slowly consumed the dark purple storms overhead, converting their streaks of light from purple to red.

Hope’s gaze was drawn to the unnatural modification, her muscles began to tense up as the skies above emitted a sense of dread upon her. Her fluffy ears flattening against her head every time those distant storms resonated throughout the desert.

Apollyon could feel Hope’s body beginning to tremble under the shade of the skies, their storms beginning to intensify and frighten her to the very core.

To Apollyon, the immense fear building up inside the little filly was unbearable, he needed to distract her from those accursed skies. Sweat began to form on his forehead as he sought for something to distract the little filly for a prolonged period of time, and upon placing his hand on his pocket, his eyes widened in realisation whilst he silently cursed himself for not thinking of this earlier.

Reaching deep into his pockets, he pulled out his personal pocket watch, raising it above his head while simultaneously calling out his nickname for her.

“Little one,” He called out, his voice immediately drawing her gaze to his head before they were quickly drawn to his hand and the shining object within its grasp, compelling her to utter a gasp at the sight, “Would you like to see this?”

Although he couldn’t see it, he could feel Hope’s eyes widening and sparking with sheer awe at the sight of his pocket watch. It’s sheer beauty alone would trap dragons in an unbreakable trance.

Apollyon felt her little hooves retrieve the shining object from his hand before hearing them rub themselves all over the skeletal case and the engravings.

“A thing of beauty… isn't it?” A broad smile formed on his face upon feeling a hoof tap him on the head, “It was a gift, very rare and very special.”

Apollyon heard a click to which he assumed was the skeletal case popping open.

“It doesn’t seem to work in this place. Which makes me wonder if time even exists here you know?”

He chuckled when he received another tap on the head, “How about you hold onto it for a while. Legend has it that if you stare long enough something amazing will happen. Vague but still it's worth a try”

A lie… but she didn’t have to know that, just whatever kept her eyes from the skies.

Fortunately for Apollyon, Hope’s mouth was left ajar as she began to stare endlessly into the pocket watch, examining every single part of it with wonder and astonishment.

The human decided to exploit her disinterest of the sky, climbing up the hill at a swifter pace compared to before, utilising his staff as support for each and every step closer to the top.

Praising the Gods upon reaching the top of the hill, his eyes sparked as he was graced with a most welcome sight in this barren unnatural desert.

Surrounded by various dunes existed the colours of lush green and sparkly blue oasis. Tightly condensed thriving bushes and towering palm trees all planted around a large natural spring. By far the only living things to have been seen in this strange place.

Apollyon’s eyes looked further, towards the otherside on the borders of the oasis, he caught sight of a box shaped house primarily made out of sandstone. Even with the massive distance between them, Apollyon could see two differing shapes cut into the building; uneven squares acting as windows and a rough shape of a rectangle acting as the front entrance.

Oddly enough, there weren't any visible makeshift blinds or even broken pieces of planks nailed together to even make a door, leaving to whoever lived there exposed to the outside. This lack of security and privacy compelled Apollyon to squint his eyes, feeling an aura of distrust surrounding him.

However, Apollyon’s thoughts were pulled away the moment he heard a loud audible gasp from above, mixed with a series of sudden movements as if that individual were trying to get down.

“I know you’re excited, but I’m not taking you off my shoulders.” His words compelled Hope to growl at the Human, quickly returning the pocket watch and before retrieving her notepad, writing a hastily scribbled message.

‘What?! Why?! The oasis is right there!’

“Because there might be some hidden dangers that I have yet to unveil, and until I’m sure it's safe you’re staying right where you are.”

Some grumbling was heard from above, before another message hung in front of Apollyon’s face.

‘Fine…’

“It’s for your own safety, little one.” He sighed, “Now hold on tight while I climb down this last dune.”

Upon receiving a light tap on the head, the digits of both his hands wrapped around his staff before he steadily began to make his way down for the final time.

---

Apollyon halted as he approached the borders of the lush oasis, his glowing gaze scanning everything from the smallest bush to the leaves of the palm trees.

The distrustful aura he emitted into the atmosphere grew evermore the longer he stared at the silent oasis. As far as he could tell, he was unable to sense anything with a moderate amount of life force in the area.

But other life forces in the area were the least of his concern, for it was what he could not see or sense. Non-living things like traps.

And what perfect place would be for traps within the silent oasis, the dense bushes and tightly compact palm trees would conceal them without much effort.

Apollyon’s gaze turned to the staff in his hand, tightening his hold upon it before looking back to the oasis in front of him.

“Little one,” Apollyon called out, feeling the filly plant her jeans on top of his, “You’re just hungry right? You don’t feel thirsty at all?”

The man felt her head leave the top of his before hearing the scribbling or pencil against paper.

‘Just hungry’

“Alright that’s good. This means we can just detour straight for the house on the other side.” He said, his boots kicking up the sand as he started to walk around the oasis.

‘What if we get thirsty?’

“Then I’ll get the water, I’m still not sure if there are any traps that exist within the greens of the oasis.”

‘What makes you think there are traps here?’

“Well, as far as I know, this is the only place where people can find drinkable water and some food if we’re lucky. Which makes it a likely place to attract… undesirables”

‘What’s so bad about that?’

Apollyon uttered a tired sigh, “Little one… you should be conserving your energy, how about we leave the questions for another time, ok?”

‘...Ok’ Hope ‘said’ allowing Apollyon to utter a breath of relief.

Thus a game of silence began, the only sounds ever heard were the distant thunder above and the sound of the sand being disturbed as Apollyon trod upon it, leaving his boot prints behind for the desert wind to cover them up and clean up after his mess.

---

The walk to the lonely house was short and painless, just how anyone would like it.

Stopping in front of the house, Apollyon stared into the black void of the house’s dark interior that not even the natural light above could illuminate.

Staring endlessly into the dark, Apollyon’s muscles tensed up as he scanned every part of the house, seeking for any sort of anomalies.

“Little one,” Apollyon called out, making the filly sit up straight, “Wait here, I’m going to make sure it’s safe.”

Upon receiving a tap on the head, his staff was embedded into the sand before his hands relocated themselves under Hope’s forelegs.

Hope showed the expression of laughter at his touch before feeling herself being lifted off his broad shoulders and onto all fours upon the desert sand.

“You are not to move from this spot, little one.” Apollyon said with a stern gaze, to which Hope immediately complied, sitting on her rear before saluting Apollyon.

“Heh, kids…” He chuckled, patting Hope on the head before ruffling up her mane.

Setting his sights upon the seemingly abandoned house, Apollyon vigilantly watched its open windows and entrance, his knees slightly bent as he approached, ready to jump out of the way, to propel him from danger in the event of an ambush - or even to shield a certain filly from harm.

Though as he arrived at the entrance of the dark abode, nothing has taken the opportunity to jump at him, living or not. Despite this, the man didn’t let his guard down.

Bending down slightly to avoid hitting his head as he stepped inside, the only things that were clearly visible was the glow of his eyes and a dim glow of a crystal that seemed to be sitting atop of a bench to the right of him.

Seeing a potential source of light, Apollyon carefully made his way to the crystal, raising his legs high in the hopes of not hitting his shin against any hidden low-level objects. Reaching the crystal, he hovered a hand over it, ordering the crystal to illuminate the house and burn away the darkness.

Upon feeling a presence near it, the crystal lit up, fulfilling its purpose, and allowing Apollyon to get a view of the rest of this small home, and from what he saw, it seemed to be big enough for a single living individual to reside in.

The bench that the crystal sat upon was made from sandstone, it’s structure seemed to be merged with the wall and floor, becoming one with the house.

Behind him laid a small bed big enough for one, however it was smaller than regular human beds to which Apollyon took note of. The makeshift bedding used for it seems to be used from various animal furs and hides rather than proper bed sheets and blankets.

Looking to the ceiling above, he could swear that the distance between his eyes and said ceiling were about a couple of centimetres apart.

From there, his gaze was immediately set upon the chest. Upon taking a knee in front of it, his hands began to molest the object as they traced themselves all over, feeling its structure and body.

Not feeling any hidden switches or magical runes, his hands relocated themselves to the lid, pushing up slightly to dig his digits under to gain some leverage before pushing it up a bit more. Stopping once a gap large enough was made for his eyes to see through, his glowing gaze peered inside, once again seeking for any sort of sabotage.

After scanning the insides for what seemed like an eternity, he began to fully open the chest but with the utmost caution. Triggering nothing, he uttered a breath of relief as he wiped the droplets of sweat forming on his forehead.

“Little one! You can come in now!” Apollyon shouted, looking deep into the interior of the chest, discovering what he was hoping to find.

Food.

A loaf of bread and three mangos.

Apollyon uttered a disappointed sigh, slowly shaking his head as he stared at the low amount of food for the filly.

Hopefully this will be enough for her… for now at least…

Upon hearing the sounds of miniature hoofsteps stepping onto the sandstone floor from behind, he reached inside, grasping a mango in his firm hold, examining every part of it before retracting back and handing it over to the filly.

“I hope you’re not picky, there’s not much for you, little one.”

Feeling the weight of the mango leave his hand, his head tilted to the side as his eyes caught sight of a diary with a leather cover.

Intrigued, he reached out to it, feeling it’s smooth texture as he retrieved it from the confines of the chest.

Shutting the chest closed, Apollyon rose up to his feet - mere centimetres away from bumping his head against the low ceiling - before making his way to the sandstone bench.

---

Hope watched the man open the much smaller book, rapidly flipping through its pages as he left his staff leaning against the wall.

Though her eyes were drawn to her belly as her stomach let out another roar that was even louder than before. Not willing to endure another, her little mouth opened wide before her flat and broad teeth sunk into the mango, feeling its juicy insides spill from her mouth.

Her eyes lidded close as she enjoyed the divine fruit. Losing herself to her instincts, she spared no effort in stuffing her face of the fruit, her stuffed mouth now forcing her to puff out her cheeks in order to fit more.

Upon taking one more bite of the fruit, her attention was drawn to the right as she heard Apollyon’s voice along with a slam of a book.

“Dammit,” He voices out, his eyes turning to Hope, “It seems that the the entirety of this journal is written in a xenos tongue.”

A perplexed expression was formed on Hope’s face in response to his choice of words”

“Uh, it was written in a different language.”

In an instant, the look of confusion was replaced with a one of understanding.

‘So what now?’

Hope asked, utilising her notepad and pencil.

“I’ll think about it. But how about you get some rest, little one?” He said gesturing to the bed behind Hope.

Looking toward the singular bed, a frown formed on her face as she realised something, and upon looking back to the human, she hit him with a look of concern.

‘What about you? Where will you sleep?’

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” He assured, giving Hope a smile, “Besides, the bed is too small for me anyway.”

Silence fell upon the two as their eyes locked onto each other, the feeling of concern was mutual but one had to concede.

Hope eventually uttered a sigh, nodding solemnly before making her way to the bed. Approaching the place of rest, she reared up on her hindlegs, allowing her forelegs to reach the top of the bed before jumping on top, immediately losing herself in its soft and warm body.

But she didn’t succumb to sleep yet as Apollyon expected, instead she readjusted herself to lay down on her side, whilst facing the human, of who gave her a little wave of his hand.

“Rest well, little one. I’ll be here when you awake.”

Hope gave him a nod whilst still laying down, letting out a drawn out yawn along with the smacking of lips as the sounds of distant thunder sounded off.

Soon her eyes began to slowly close, blinding herself from the rest of the land with only the picture of a pair of glowing purple orbs looking at her with a warm smile.

---

As Apollyon watched Hope’s sapphire irises become obscured by her eyelids, and her silence now replaced by a series of delicate snores. The once warm smile he once showed slowly disappeared, fading to a neutral expression as a hand hovered over the crystal, dimming it’s light before his gaze shifted over to his staff.

With a tired sigh, he grabbed hold of the staff before carefully making his way outside, treading with caution to not bump his staff or himself against anything in fear of waking the filly.

When he finally made his way outside without managing to wake up Hope, he held his staff in front him, gripping onto it with both hands before raising it up and impaling it into the sand.

“Protect us, as we slumber under your vigilant watch.” He whispered, his knuckles turning white as he tightened his hold over the staff.

The Mantle surged brightly for a brief moment in response, emitting a series of faint unintelligible whispers before falling silent but keeping its aura.

Apollyon remained standing there for a moment or two, watching the beauty of the Mantle’s aura as it shined in this dark desert. Eventually, the hold of the staff was relinquished before he turned about, and proceeded to return the abode without uttering another word.

Stepping inside once more, he wasted no time in leaning back against the wall, ever so slowly falling to the ground as he stared towards the ceiling, his eyes slowly lidded close.

It's a wonder we didn't get stuck in a loop... what was different this time around?

The thought remained in his head, thinking about the possibilities of such a circumstance. Upon taking a deep breath he whispered a few phrases.

Eam Angeli, pugnare fortiter…

(Her Angels fight bravely…)

Et exercitus Eius Angeli, erat magna

(The valour of Her Angels was great…)

Author's Note:

Did you miss me?

Comments, criticism and theories are highly appreciated

Comments

[Lord Inquisitor]

I don't know why but this guy just reeks of the Warhammer 40K

[ExaltedFiction]

10294322
Ah shit the Inquisition is here? I swear we didn’t forget to put mustard on your hotdog.

But what is it that makes him reek of 40k, my lord Inquisitor?

[Gaz888F]

10294542
Other then the clear referance to the Blood Ravens, I'd say his use of "Higher Gothic" and a few of his mannerisms *cough cough* Human surperiority mindset *cough cough*

[ExaltedFiction]

10304083
*Notices coughing* *Notices the icon you bear as your avatar*

HERESY!!!!

[Gaz888F]

10306350
Grandpapa Nurgle loves you!

[ExaltedFiction]

10306429