Wandering Prey

by Rikkity

First published 11th of March, 2014

A modern mage transports himself to Equestria in an attempt to flee from those who would destroy him.

(REWRITE IN PROGRESS!)

A modern mage transports himself to Equestria in an attempt to flee from those who would destroy him. His escape to this world of ponies might be the best thing he ever did. Or will it be the worst since another like him seems to have made his way there as well?

Not everything is as simple as he would have liked to put it, and he will learn that isolation may not be his friend this time around.

This fic will no longer be set in Ungrounded's universe! (WILL UNDERGO A REWRITE)

Chapter 1

The house was quiet. Aiden peered in through the windows, but no lights were on in the house. He rapped his knuckles on the wood, producing a hollow thunking sound that seemed to echo in the cold night air. Seeing as how Connor wouldn’t answer the door, he tried the knob. Predictably, it was locked.

With a few whispered words of power, he pointed his finger at the lock. There was a soft click, and the door swung open. He stepped inside and closed the entrance behind him. The wooden floor creaked as he stepped across the surface. “Connor?” he called out to the dark house.

He was home, Aiden knew it.

Aiden walked into the basement. A soft green light was coming from the base of the stairs, just around the corner. Panic began to well up in his chest. He took the steps two at a time, already beginning to deny in his mind the events that were rapidly occurring. He hit the base of the staircase and froze at the sight before him.

Connor was hovering a few inches off the floor, his back arched and arms splayed out. Spirits of demons and the damned flooded the space, swirling around Connor and the open book on the ground. Aiden’s eyes widened at the sight before him, and his jaw fell agape. That accursed black book was the root of it all, the damned thing had overtaken his closest friend.

Thinking quickly, he charged up a spell in his right hand. After a moment, he stretched his arm up and a beam of white light erupted around Connor. The sudden brightness stung his eyes, but he couldn’t look away. Once it had faded, and his vision cleared, he noticed that Connor hadn’t changed his position, but the spirits seemed to swirl around more violently. Echos of screams bounced across the walls.

He had attempted a hasty exorcism on his friend, but it didn’t work. There was no way, without an actual priest to perform that kind of ritual, that he could free his friend. Any of Aiden’s attempts would be in vain.

“You can’t have him!” Aiden shouted to the possessed body of what was once his friend.

“Interesting,” came the distorted voice of Connor, “you seem to think highly of this hollow mage. And he thought highly of you.” The voice sounded even more disembodied as it spoke.

Aiden knew that his friend was gone, but he had to give another try. “Connor, stop what you’re doing, it’s not too late!” he screamed over the shrieks of the spirits rushing around the room.

“Connor is no more. It is only I, Nuhersë.” Connor’s body spun around in the air to face Aiden. His eyes had gone dark, and streaks of blood ran down his cheeks. A manic grin stretched across the breadth of his face, filled to the brim with sharpened teeth.

There was only one way he could be freed from the evil. That book, that grimoire as it was called, was something that Connor should never have gotten his hands on. It was akin to poison, and now that poison had taken his soul.

Without hesitation, Aiden put his hand out. A small ball of light formed in his hand. The mage closed his hand on it, tightening it into a fist.

Aiden charged after his friend. Connor’s body flew backward, almost pressing up against the wall. He sent out lashes of shapeless dark energy, hoping to get a hit. Aiden, with the agility only given by several years of experience, threw his body left and right, dodging each attack without fail. Several close calls later, Aiden reached Conner and pressed his magic-charged palm against the demon’s head. The body of his dearest friend was engulfed by the light that Aiden struck him with.

“I’m sorry, Connor.” The mage wanted to cry, but didn’t. He knew that it would be better to end his friend’s suffering now. Aiden did what he had to do.

A bright flash lit up the room, and in an instant, the space where Connor’s body once occupied was empty. Only a blackened ring on the floorboard was what was left to signify that he was even there.

Aiden looked over to the grimoire that laid open on the ground. With a simple flick of his hand, the book shut. He bent over, and picked up the book. The mage stared at the eerie black cover. A pentagram was embroidered on the hard cover with an upside down cross in front of it. Aiden pondered the events that had just transpired.

“This book shall never again see the light of day.” He wholeheartedly declared to himself. With that, the mage tucked the book underneath his right arm. As Aiden made his exit, he turned his head to the side and said solemnly, “You are free now.”

*****

Aiden’s eyes shot open, and he picked his head up. His chest heaved with shallow wheezes. He gasped for lung fulls of air, and his body shaking. Beads of sweat trickled down upon his brow. With his vision blurry and distorted, he blinked a few times, and rubbed his eyes. After a few more deep breaths, Aiden’s body started to relax a bit more. His breathing returned to normal, his vision began to clear up, and his body stopped shaking. He took his left arm and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He slumped back in his chair and looked around.

Aiden was in the confines of his lab inside his house, built deep inside a dark and eerie forest. He sat at his desk with an open book filled with notes he had taken during his time in the newly discovered world. The notes described what the world is: the various types of creatures that existed and the sapient beings that inhabited it, namely, “ponies.” Aiden skimmed through his notes to find the name of the world they, and now he, roamed. After a lot of flipping, he finally found the page, and scanned it with his finger until he noticed the name.

“Equestria,” He said to himself. He chuckled lightly at the name. “Makes sense that a bunch of ponies would be roaming this land. The name says it all.”

Aiden pushed himself from his desk and got up from his seat. He walked over to the door which led to what represented his living room, and opened it. There was a small sofa up against the back wall and in front of it stood a small coffee table. At the other end of the space, there was a door which led to the kitchen, and a hallway that led to two other rooms plus a bathroom. In the living room, there was a door on the other side of the exit of the house, which led to the basement which happened to contain a library. The lucidness in the house was given off by electrical lights powered by magic.

Aiden made his way to the exit of his abode located on the other end of the room. Just before he made his exit he pulled from his coat a homebrewed bright blue potion. He pulled off the stopper, and took a whiff. It didn’t smell too bad, but when Aiden drank it, he winced as the liquid made contact with his taste buds.

He gagged a little, but managed to down the liquid. “I still won’t ever be able to get used to that taste,” he said with a raspy breath.

A few moments went by, then an intense pain started to afflict his body. Aiden’s limbs slowly started to change shape. The bones in his body twisted and shifted until they were completely rearranged. His body grew fur and a tail, and his hands and feet became hooves.

The potion had completely turned him into a white, unicorn pony with a brown mane and tail and light blue eyes. On his flank showed a circle of runes with an open book in the center. Once the transformation was complete, he took in a few deep breaths, and let them out slowly, allowing his heart rate to return to normal.

“Three years I’ve been doing that, and it still hurts.” Aiden laughed to himself, despite the amount of pain he just went through.

The mage, now turned unicorn, faced the door before him. He focused his magic onto the door knob, causing a bright blue aura to glow around his horn. With a simple thought, the knob twisted, and the door opened. Aiden made his way out the door and, with another simple burst of magic, the door shut behind him.

‘The Everfree Forest,’ Aiden began thinking to himself, ‘Nobody ever comes into this dark and spooky place. Makes it a perfect hiding place for just about anything.’ He was right, for the most part.

Nopony dared traverse this ominous place. Anyone that did enter the forest, and travelled deep enough, were greeted by Aiden’s summoned servants. Among these creatures were phantasmal, hooded beings called Watchers, and golems made from rocks, dirt, mud, and scraps of metal and junk he had found laying around. The final creature that patrolled the perimeter of his house were Sentinels. Ethereal shadows with red, glowing eyes that would quickly wipe any pony’s recent memory and deposit them back at the entrance of the forest if they got too close to their master’s dwelling.

Aiden whistled for his minions’ attention. Sentinels, Watchers, and golems gathered around him to hear their orders. “You all know what to do while I’m gone,” He stated, “No one is to get near this vicinity, period! Remember!” he pointed a hoof specifically to the golems, “No harming the ponies if one happens to be wandering around and gets too close! Got that?” His responses were hisses, whispers, and groans of acknowledgement. “Back to what you were doing.”

With that, Aiden trotted off, making his way towards the town of Ponyville.

*****

Before Aiden entered Ponyville, he channelled magic into his horn. With a bit of focus he was able to materialize a pencil and a notepad from thin air. Both items levitated in his light blue aura as he chuckled to himself. It was fascinating to see how their species uses magic.

Aiden made his way into Ponyville, and took in the sights as he trotted through the road. Thatched roof houses filled the spaces and pegasi were managing the weather. As he passed ponies by they would greet him with a “hello” or “how’s it going”, and he would simply return their greeting with a curt nod. One part of town he would happen to come across on occasion did stand out among all the others. There was a building made completely out of gingerbread, and all he knew every time he saw it is that he wanted to eat it.

“Hiya!” Pinkie Pie appeared right in front of the white pony’s face.

Aiden stared wide-eyed at the pink pony. “Uh, hi.”

“So, do you want to have your welcome party now? Huh? Huh?” She started to jump up and down in a jittery fashion.

He shook his head. “No thank you.”

Pinkie’s demeanor changed after hearing this, and brought a hoof to her chin. “Why don’t you want a Pinkie Party?”

“I’m not really the-” Aiden’s answer was interrupted by Rainbow Dash flying down in front of him.

“Yeah! Why don’t you want her to throw you a party!?”

“Well I-”

“I mean, her parties are awesome.”

“Please let me-” he was cut off once more.

“Mhm. Nopony has ever turned down one of my parties before. Especially for three years, four months, twenty three days, five hours, forty minutes, and fifteen seconds!” Pinkie added.

Aiden gritted his teeth as his patience wore thin from their constant interruptions. “Please! Leave me alone! Just go away, and let me go about my day in peace!” His yelling left him with his chest rising and falling with violent puffs.

Rainbow Dash took a defensive stance in front of Pinkie Pie, and took a defensive stance. “What’s your problem anyway?!”

“What’s my problem? What’s my problem?! I don’t like it when I’m constantly asked “Oh you want to party” because that drives me insane!” Aiden's voice got much louder for everypony to hear. He got stares from ponies whom happened to pass by to witness the situation. He just ignored it all.

Dash’s glare sharpened. “You’re right! You are insane!”

“Just leave me alone.”

“Better yet: why don’t you leave?”

Aiden’s mouth fell agape and he thought long and hard about Rainbow’s retort. Why didn’t he just leave? Maybe it was because he felt more at peace here than back on Earth where he always lived his life on the run. Here he didn’t have to run, he hid in case some bad people managed find their way into Equestria, then he wouldn’t be to blame for the torment they would have to go through. So, he always kept his distance; observing from afar. It was because he wanted to keep them safe.

The stallion put his head down in remorse from his outburst. “I-I’m sorry. I’m just not one for parties.” He took a long glance at Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. “Please, I just want to be left alone. I didn’t mean to yell like that.”

Rainbow Dash’s gaze softened. “I-yeah. Sorry I yelled. See ya around.” With that, the pegasus took flight and left.

Pinkie went up to Aiden with an apologetic smile. “It’s fine if you don’t want a welcome party. I understand if you don’t want to, but it would be nice if you did. Can you think about it maybe? It would be really super duper terrific if you did.”

He took in some air and let it out slowly. “I don’t know, Pinkie. I don’t think you’d feel safe around me.”

Pinkie gave a puzzled stare. “Why wouldn’t anypony feel safe around you? You’re always roaming around Ponyville with your little notepad and pencil.”

“I’m just not comfortable okay? I don’t really speak with the other ponies for this long anyway. So please, leave me alone.”

“Well, the option is always open incase you change your mind!” Pinkie turned around and slowly headed back inside Sugarcube Corner with less bounce in her step.

‘Did I really have to be so hard on her?’ Aiden thought. ‘I guess it wouldn’t hurt to one of these days reveal myself. Maybe those Hunters will never find a way to Equestria. Nobody knows about even half of the spells I created and casted. Being secretive can have its perks at times, but maybe this is one of those occasions where it isn’t.’ He thought deeper and deeper about the situation as he continued his exploration of Ponyville.

He came across the market place and saw all the ponies sitting around at stalls eating, and waiting in line to purchase their goods. Aiden already had some notes about the many things ponies ate, but what he couldn’t wrap his head around is how they could hold some of these items in their hooves. It always caused his brows to furrow at the fact that was the one things he could never do while in his pony form. He always relied on his magic, and could never use his hooves like they could. That was one of the few things that made him stand out amongst the other equines.

*****

Aiden continued to trot through Ponyville, taking notes on things he might have missed during his time in Equestria. He managed to fill a few pages in just a couple of hours. He then looked up at the sky with much vigor, and took in the deepest breath he could. He let out the air pour out from his lungs.

He stared upwards at the blue veil for a few moments and whispered to himself. “Cloudsdale. One day I will reach you.”

Aiden has heard much about Cloudsdale over the years, but he wasn’t really able to get there. Only pegasi could walk on clouds and had the ability to fly because they were born with wings. He didn’t think of it much as a problem with his human form because with just a simple spell, he could get there; but with his current form, he could not. The thought of getting there one day always made him giddy with excitement. He just needed to figure out how he would do it in his pony form.

He didn’t put much thought into it at the moment because he was more determined to take more notes about the world that was currently accessible to him. He travelled to a local train station where he stood in awe at the fact that ponies even had trains to begin with. They seemed so medieval that he thought nothing of it. It didn’t occur to him until now to go around and explore more of this fascinating world. Aiden brought his notepad before him and scribbled away at the information he could attain without directly asking for it.

“The Friendship Express,” he muttered. The sides of his lips turned up, and his eyes gazed upon the train in front of him. He would have to ride the train later just to see more of this fascinating world, but he didn’t have that kind of time right then. He had only about an hour left before the effects of the potion start to wear off. That was time he couldn’t afford to waste.

With his newly jotted notes, he turned and happily trotted away from the station. As he took his leave, he could remember how perfectly aligned the rails were. How did ponies even do all of this with just hooves? Even the train itself had a an appealing design. He was aesthetically drawn to it all. The best part was that he finally knew how to get to Canterlot. After the few years he had spent there, he never really found the time to explore every area of Ponyville, especially the train station. Instead, Aiden always ended up couping himself up in his lab to create spells, study, and find ways to strengthen the effects of his ponfication potions so they would have a much longer duration.

*****

Aiden trotted back through Ponyville to explore more of the town with what time he had left before the potions wears off. He picked a direction and stuck with it. He continued his way down the road until he came across an orchard of apple trees. With much curiosity, he traversed through the orchard as he jotted down notes in his notepad. The sight never ceased to amaze him everytime he visited it. That was until he saw Applejack bucking the trees. This was the first time he saw the mare somewhere other than her stall in the market.

There was something about her that caught his attention. Maybe it was because she reminded him of his home back on Earth. His eyes glazed over as his mind drifted back to remember a crush he had way back then. He had been with a girl for a few years prior to him entering Equestria. He found many things in common with her such as her being country girl just as he was a country boy. Both their families lived on farms, and they both enjoyed country music. Everything was going well for them. That was until some things happened and he had to leave her and his home behind.

“Uh, hello? You there?” Applejack asked as she waved a hoof in front of his face.

Aiden blinked a few times and shook his head. “Oh um, sorry. I just spaced out.”

Applejack raised a brow at him. “Y’all stood there looking like a zompony or somethin’.”

“My apologies, I’ll get going. I’m trespassing.”

“Are ya okay, partner?”

“N-yes. I’m fine.”

“You sure? ‘Cause you look like you need some rest.”

Aiden’s cheeks turned up a little. “Yeah, rest. I’ll go get some. It’s time for me to get going anyway.”

“Why not rest here for the night? We got plenty of room.” Applejack insisted.

He didn’t want to turn her offer down, but he had to. His current form wasn’t going to last much longer. From what he could gather from the sun’s current position, he estimated that he had less than half an hour.

“I am sorry, but I really gotta get home. I’ve got some rather important things to do.” He explained.

Applejack cocked a brow. “What kind of important things?”

“Uh….really important ones.” Aiden sighed. “Listen, if I stay at your place, it won’t end well. Okay?”

“Ah’ guess ah’ understand. Just be sure to get that rest okay?”

It’s funny, really. Aiden always wondered why she showed him such hospitality. Sure they had a few talks, but they were always very brief. She really did remind him of his family when it came to things like this. Whenever someone needed a place to stay, his folks opened their door to them. Or if someone needed some help, they’d help them. She was just that trusting even after only a few chats here and there. They barely even knew each other, but he’d always bring himself to smile at the mare.

Aidan looked at Applejack with a weak smile. “Thanks,” he said as he turned around and walked away.

“Anytime, Prism.”

After he was out of sight, he put his head down. To his dismay, he knew he had developed feelings for her, but he couldn’t act on them. Interspecies relationships were just….weird. He was a human, and she was a pony though. It was just the way things were; and as long as he had the fear of being followed, he would not involve himself with her or any of the other ponies’ lives.

*****

Aiden quickened his pace as he saw the sun beginning to move behind the mountains. He was almost in the Everfree, just running along the outskirts. As he entered the forest, he felt his body begin to change shape. He fell to the ground in agonizing pain as his bones twisted and writhed within his body. He always wanted to scream when he was transforming back, but he would just bite his lip and hold it in. His limbs expanded and his bones started to regrow, pushing against the surface of his skin. His white fur started to thin out and disappear from his body.

His body started to change back to its original human appearance. Aiden felt his eyes water as he endured the painful process, not wanting to let out the slightest peep. After the transformation process was over, he laid there on the ground, gasping for breath, for a few brief moments. He struggled to his feet, but with his body weakened, he could barely manage to walk even an inch.

A few pained steps later, one of his servants managed to spot him. It was one of his Sentinels. The ethereal creature looked at the pain its master was in, and decided to find a way to stop it. So it picked him up and carried him to his house. Aiden, with a bit more of strength, had enough energy to walk over to his door and turn the knob. He looked back at the Sentinel and nodded while giving his thanks. The creature dissipated and reformed along the boundary lines to continue its patrol.

Aiden finally entered his house.’That took much longer than it usually did,’ he pondered. He had used a particular blue plant in this formula, but after he found out some of its negative effects, he had to find something else to counteract it. Thinking conservatively, he simply chose a few ingredients from a remedy so the effects would wear off eventually. He had to be careful about it though; one tiny miscalculation and he could end up being a pony for a while; a long while.

He made his way down the hall and entered his bed room. His walls were covered with posters of famous rock bands from his world. Pushed up against the wall on the other end of the room was his bed, and to the left of it was a small nightstand with a reading lamp on it. In the drawers were either books of his liking, or tomes filled with spells he created himself. One such spell in one of those books was the one that got him to Equestria.

He stumbled over to his bed and collapsed on it, his face smashing into the mattress. While he laid there, Aiden thought. His mind wandered for a bit, but eventually came to think about the other human that had recently appeared in Equestria. From what he could gather and witness, the man’s name was Lucien, and he spent a lot of time hanging around Twilight. There were some rumors floating around about how he caused the invasion of monsters from Earth during the last Winter, but he couldn’t prove anything. Honestly, Aiden didn’t care much about what the man was doing in Equestria, but he was still suspicious of him.

Aiden felt a disturbing tide of feelings overwhelm him. His fingers twitched and clawed at his mattress. He was unable to do much about it because his body had given in to the exhaustion of the day’s events. His eyelids slowly made their way over his eyes. He finally drifted off to sleep to get much needed rest, for he had a feeling tomorrow would hold surprises around every corner.

Author's Notes:

Some parts of this chapter may be subject to change in the future.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this. Not particularly the best I could do in my opinion.

Tell me what you guys think.

Chapter 2

Aiden laid in his bed as air calmly entered and exited his body. His eyes were closed and his body was motionless. Aiden enjoyed his recovery from yesterday’s events. He shifted in his bed to a more comfortable position. His right arm hung off the edge, and his left hand rested on his stomach. He was enjoying his rest. As he slept, his peace was interrupted by an unsettling aura that filled the atmosphere. He stirred violently and tried to ignore the feeling that flared through his body. The power grew more intense as its source drew closer.

Aiden snapped wide awake and jumped out of bed. He scrambled to his closet to gather his equipment. He slipped on his usual attire: a pair of jeans, a plain white T-shirt, his favorite black jacket, and shoes. He looked up to the shelf right above where his clothes hung, and reached for his pauldron. The steel was colored crimson and had enchantment runes carved into it. He quickly strapped on the piece of armor and rushed out of the house.

Upon exiting his house he witnessed one of his Watchers fly by and smash into a tree nearby. Once the dust in the clearing settled, he looked up to see the cause of the destruction. Another man wielding a warhammer stood on the other side of a dead Sentinel. His aura glowed a green ethereal color, which nearly matched the grass green color of his shirt.

Aiden trembled a bit at the amount of magical power that flowed through the man in front of him. How could he possibly fight back? His aggressor outmatched his power by a huge margin; it was like standing next to a tidal wave. Aiden was at a loss for words.

His whole body shook, and beads of sweat started to form on his forehead. How could he fight an opponent so much more powerful than him? Aiden fought strong foes in the past, but nothing like this. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, then he took in deeps breaths and let them out slowly, shaking away any negative thoughts. The young mage focused on channeling his magic through his body, and readied himself. The man in front of him did the same.

Aiden wasn’t one for combat when it came to fighting, but he fought back if he really had to. He channelled his magic through his body, causing vibrations to reverberate through his bones. He took a step forward and his opponent did the same. Aiden went forward a few more paces until he was struck with a concussive burst of magic. He held his arms up in a “X” to block as much of the force as he could. After he stopped sliding back across the grass, he put them down and looked ahead to see that his aggressor was no longer in front of him.

He shifted his eyes frantically, searching for the intruder. He turned his body around to see if he was behind him, but no one was there. He looked up and turned back around to see that the man was a good ten feet in the air; and he was coming down on him hard. Aiden had to think of something fast or that hammer would turn him into a pile of mush on the forest floor. With a bit of channelling of his magic, he took a step forward. He locked eyes with his airborne opponent, and stood still. When the hammer came down on him, a pulse shot through his body.

The warhammer slammed down on Aiden with titanic force. What happened next caught the intruder off guard: the Aiden that stood in place simply burst into specs of dust. The other mage looked around for a moment. His surroundings looked normal and he couldn’t find anything that seemed out of place. Aiden appeared from behind him and threw a magically charged punch at his gut. The fist connected with his stomach with brute force. The other mage winced in pain as he felt air violently exit his body.

Satisfied with delivering a successful blow, Aiden quickly launched another fist at him. The other mage was prepared for it. He spun down and swept Aiden’s legs out from under him. While he was briefly in the air, the other mage sent out another burst of force that sent Aiden tumbling away. He hit the ground flat on his stomach. He just knew that he had to get up to deflect the next attack and-

The other mage had the tip of his sword hovering inches from his face.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you.”

Aiden moved his eyes from the tip of the blade up to the face of its wielder. “I just want to live in peace.” He said, turning his head away.

“Then you summoned those?” he asked, jerking his head in the direction where Aiden’s creatures were.

“They were to only aid in my concealment. Any of the ponies that got too close to my home were immediately dropped at the entrance of the Everfree with no prior memory of going in,” Aiden explained.

The man seemed to think about Aiden’s words for a moment, his eyes searching Aiden’s face. With slight hesitation, he withdrew his sword from Aiden’s face. He took a step back, spun the weapon around, then set it on his back, where it somehow stayed in a fixed position. “Well, that would have been messy. Up up.” He held out his hand to Aiden.

Aiden raised a brow at the man’s gesture. “Forgive me if I say that I am a bit flabbergasted, but, just like that?”

“It’s pretty clear that you’re new to this, somewhat. Even if those illusions were impressive. And summoning Watchers and Sentinels, not bad.”

“I may still be technically new to magic, but that doesn’t discredit eight years of practice.”

“That sounds about right. Illusionist, yeah?”

“I’m experienced with illusions and a few others types of magic. The advanced stuff I’m barely getting into.”

“Good, good.” He kicked a rock at his feet. “I’m Lucien, by the way. Haven’t seen you around here before.”

“Name’s Aiden,” he quickly replied, grabbing Lucien’s hand to pull himself off the ground.

“Where are you from? And don’t say Equestria, because I will punch you.”

“Texas.”

“Year?”

“2041.”

“Hm. 2044. You’ve been here a while.”

“I came here on my own accord. Leaving home became a top priority after a while.”

“Well, the lifestyle’s not for everyone. Where were you? When you left, I mean.”

“I was still living in Texas, but around the more urban areas. You?”

“Outskirts of New York while taking a quasi-vacation. Got here by accident.”

“How do you get here by accident?”

“Trying to summon a demon,” he replied casually. “My cat screwed up one of the runes, though. I’m still not entirely sure how it worked out that I would end up here.”

Aiden glared for a moment at Lucien. “A demon?!”

“Yeah, a demon. Not one in particular, but not, like, Abaddon or something.”

“I don’t care what demon it was. A demon is a demon, and I’ll be damned if I have to deal with another one of those!”

Lucien scanned Aiden’s face for a moment. “You’ve had a rough time, haven’t you? Why didn’t you try to contact one of the Factions?”

“When I learned of the Factions, I didn’t like the strictness and their corrupt ways of thinking. I decided that I would take on my own responsibilities and fight my own battles,” Aiden answered.

“I get the corrupt part, but strict? Sure, they can be a little uptight and all, but…” He met Aiden’s eyes, “Going it alone isn’t easy. Sometimes you need backup. And I’m guessing that you went toe-to-toe with a demon, without help.”

“Yes, I did,” Aiden answered bluntly, “And I lost a very close friend because of it.”

Lucien smiled sympathetically. “It happens to all of us.”

“This was more than just a very close friend per se. More like family.”

“Well that’s good because I was about to suggest that you two were romantically involved.”

Aiden spluttered. “I hope to Christ you’re kidding.”

“I’ve seen weirder. And it’s not so rare these days.”

“I could care less about what you have seen. I never go against my morals.”

“You still have those? Hah! How old are you?”

“Twenty-three,” Aiden answered flatly.

“And I see that you’re a bit of a blacksmith too, is that right?”

“Sort of. This pauldron is the only piece of armor that I actually made myself. The runes I worked into it are my doing too.”

“Can I see?”

Aiden reluctantly unstraps the armor from his shoulder, and handed it over to Lucien. Its steal was a dark crimson with a black leather strap. On the surface of the plated armor were several runes that gave off a protective aura. The metalwork was commendable at best, and it looked like it hadn’t seen much combat. It wasn’t even older than several years.

“Huh,” he said, turning it over in his hands. “Not bad, not bad at all.”

“I still feel it could be better though.”

“Hmm…” he trailed off. “So you just live here in the forest, huh?”

“Yes, I do. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“...You’re not the best conversation partner.”

Aiden pondered Lucien’s comment for a brief moment and shrugged. “It’s something I developed while living here. I’m just not comfortable talking to people for very long because well….” Aiden paused before continuing. “Let’s just say it’s just from a lingering fear.”

Lucien raised a brow, but didn’t say anything immediately. Then, after a moment, “I’ll leave you to it then. I know what it’s like to want isolation. Took me some 8 years to break out of the mindset.”

Aiden stared at the other mage quizzically. Just how old was this guy? He thought about it for a few seconds, then decided to put the issue on the backburner. He shook his head, and replied back, “Thanks for your understanding.”

“I guess I’ll see you around then. I’ll make sure to uh, discourage ponies from wandering out here.” He began backing up as he talked. “Maybe put up some wards; those are nice. Have fun.” He flashed and disappeared.

Aiden stood by himself in the Everfree, only several feet from his house. He drew in some breath and let it out slowly. He looked around to observe the mess Lucien made earlier. He laced his fingers together, turned his hands outward, and pushed them forward. The sound of relief from his knuckles broke the silence. As he was about to prepare the first set of runes to conduct his summoning to replace his servants, however, he became surrounded by many ponies in armor, and two alicorns.

The guards glared at him and the alicorns didn’t look anymore pleased to see him. “What the hell is going on here?” Aiden observed the alicorns more thoroughly. He immediately recognized them as Equestria’s rulers: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

“You are under arrest,” answered Celestia.

Aiden’s blood ran stone cold. “What did I do? I didn’t do anything!”

Luna stepped in to explain. “You were observed attacking one of Equestria’s important citizens.”

“What? I was defending myself! That and I can’t even do that much harm to anyone!” Aiden defended.

“You are still to be presumed dangerous, and shall be sent back to whence you came. Until then, you will be held in the Canterlot dungeons until the spell to send you back is complete.” Celestia declared.

There was no fighting back. Aiden knew that this was a losing battle, and retaliating will only hurt his case. So without any resistance he allowed his apprehenders to take him in. As he was taken away by the Princesses, Aiden’s remaining Sentinels and Watchers hid in the shadows as they observed the situation. They respected their master’s wishes; therefore not acting upon their instincts to go save him. They only did what they normally did: patrol the area around their master’s home.

After Aiden fully left their sights they dwelled within the shadows, awaiting for their master’s homecoming. Most of them, at least.

*****

Some time went by during the travel to Canterlot. Aiden sat in silence as the flying carriage he was in flew over the many sights below. The Friendship Express was making its travel to the capital as well. When he looked ahead he saw the city built onto the side of a mountain. It only made sense to him that the city had such a foundation as it made it seemed to make it harder for opposing nations, if any, to invade it.

He decided not to focus too much on anything though. Afterall, he was a criminal. “Ah’ just wanted to be alone.” He mumbled. In turn this earned him a few stares, especially from the princesses.

“What was that?” Celestia questioned.

“Nothing. Ah’m-” Aiden cut himself off, and came to the realization his accent was slipping. He mentally kicked himself, and forced himself away from it, returning back to his usual one. He cleared his throat and finished his statement, “I’m fine.” He wasn’t angry, nor did he sound upset. He kept himself from expressing his true emotions as he saw it would only be pity that they would show him, and he didn’t want that. He wanted true acceptance, not for people to feel sorry for him.

Luna looked over at him. “You could try defending yourself. Argue your case so that we may know the whole story.”

“What’s the point?” He argued, “It’s not like you’re going to believe me! Ah’ am a cri-” he drew in a deep breath, and after another mental kick, he spoke normally again, “I am seen as a criminal, and there is no way I’ll win my case,” he solemnly finished his answer.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at him. She knew that he committed a crime, but that shouldn’t deter him from defending himself. “Perhaps you would reconsider? It is the only viable option for you to remain here in Equestria.”

Aiden was about to respond, but quickly took a few steps back in his head to think about his reply. After about a minute of thinking he finally spoke. “I just don’t want to go back, but I feel like I have no say in the matter. Even if I did a decent job of explaining myself, it may not help me in the long run.”

“Perhaps,” was all Celestia said in reply.

*****

They finally made it to Canterlot Castle after a long, uneventful ride. Upon entering the palace, Celestia ordered her guards to take Aiden to his cell. As usual, he didn’t resist at all. He only complied with a nod of his head. Both Luna and Celestia were perplexed by his behavior. After the guards took him away, the two started to discuss the matter.

“I don’t get it, Luna. Why doesn’t he fight back?”

“Perhaps he is much more composed than Lucien?” Luna answered.

“No, that’s not it. Though he does seem more reserved, it’s as if he’s hiding something from us that may convince us even further that we are doing the right thing,” replied Celestia.

“What might he be hiding?”

“I don’t know exactly, but we are going to find out.”

*****

Aiden laid in his cot inside his cell, thinking deeply about how he could convince them to let him stay. He viciously clawed his fingers into his hair causing them to dig at his scalp everytime he came to a dead end. No matter what defense he came up with in his head it would only end badly. He clenched locks of his hair at the thought of failure to come up with a good argument.

He turned his head to look over at the guard standing in front of his cell. “Is it alright if I got a glass of water? Kinda thirsty here.”

The guard craned his neck to look back at Aiden. “I guess there’s no harm in it.” He walked away for a moment to satisfy his request. After a minute he came back with a glass of water. The guard held his hoof through the prison bars to give it to Aiden.

“Thank you,” He grabbed the glass and took a drink and put it next to his bed.

“No problem.” The guard replied as he went back to his post. “Heh, normally when we catch criminals they try to escape, not stand there and just go with it.”

Aiden stared at the guard whilst he laid back down in his cot, taking another sip of his water with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah? What does this have to do with me?” He put his glass back on the ground, and put his head back down onto his pillow.

The guard coughed into his hoof. “Well, you don’t seem to be as aggressive as the rest of the other criminals. I’m just wondering why that is.”

“What reason do I have to attack innocent people, or ponies in this case?”

“Maybe you were provoked in some way?”

“I had an unfortunate run-in with some guy named Lucien.” Aiden explained.

The pony’s ears flattened at the mention of that name. “That is unfortunate.”

“You know him?”

“Kind of. I’ve seen him around the palace from time to time. He’s turned into some sort of myth among the guards.”

“Huh.” Aiden chuckled lightly and drew in a breath. He let the air pour out from his body, allowing him to relax a bit. “It’s alright. This is actually the first time I had any real interaction with anyone.”

“In how long may I ask?”

“Three years, give or take.”

The guard’s eyes went wide for a moment. He seemed unable to imagine how anypony could go that long without interacting with others.

“How did you even go that long without going insane?” he asked Aiden further.

Aiden opened his mouth, but quickly closed it as he couldn’t really explain it well. He thought for a moment, then answered. “I guess I’m just used to it? I guess it just grows on you after a while.”

“That makes sense, I think,” The guard replied back. “So, may I have the honor of knowing the name of the human I’m talking to?”

“Aiden,” He answered straightforwardly. “And yours?”

“Sky High.”

Aiden turned his head to look the guard over more thoroughly. He couldn’t see his mane or cutie mark because of his helmet and armor. The pony was a grey colored pegasus with topaz eyes, he was also pretty strong looking, and seemed capable of taking down a few fugitives if needed to. After he was done inspecting him, Aiden laid back down in his bed. He stared at the ceiling as he got lost in his thoughts.

Hoofsteps could be heard echoing around the cell block as guards roamed back and forth down the hallways. Aiden could hear them conversing as they passed by each other. He paid no attention to them as he closed his eyes to get some rest. He heard his cell door open and close, then a stern voice woke him up.

“Excuse us, but we need to talk to you.”

Aiden opened his left eye to peek up at the one who disturbed his slumber. When he did, he saw Princess Celestia and Luna standing before him. He stretched and let out a small yawn and sat on the side of his bed.

“About what, exactly?” He finally answered.

Celestia looked back at Sky and nodded to signal that he can leave his post while she and her sister spoke to Aiden. She looked back at Aiden with a stern expression. “We need to talk about how and why you came to Equestria, and how you managed to remain in secret.”

“It was a path I didn’t necessarily want to tread, but I had to.” He replied.

The Princesses were perplexed. “What exactly do you mean by that?” Luna asked.

Aiden took a deep breath. He knew had to explain himself, but it was going to be rather difficult to do. “I didn’t want to come here, but my old living situation forced me to leave home. I took up residence in the Everfree Forest, and I’ve been there ever since, visiting Ponyville occasionally to study the culture. You’re all very fascinating.”

“Really? How so?” Celestia asked, intrigued.

“For starters, our societies are remarkably similar in mannerisms and speech: common phrases, common motions and the like. And while your technology isn’t quite as far along as my planet’s is, it’s approaching it. I’d give you 200 years, give or take, before you catch up to us fully. And…” he was going to mention Earth’s horses, but he figured that would cause the conversation to become a bit awkward.

“And what?” asked Luna, picking up on his pause.

“Uh, the flora and fauna. Completely different from what’s on my planet. That’s part of the reason why I stayed in the Everfree, because of all the interesting plants and such.” He kept a neutral face, hoping they wouldn’t catch his hasty cover-up statement. When their expressions didn’t change, he let out a mental sigh of relief.

“I see. Well, it must be very fascinating for you to live here. How long, exactly, did you say you have been staying in the forest?” Celestia asked.

“I didn’t say, and about three years now,” Aiden replied, not volunteering any more information.

Celestia and Luna shared a glance, then Luna gave Celestia a short nod and turned to walk out of the cell. She departed, and left Aiden alone with Celestia.

He sat with some slight confusion, but figured out what was going to happen quickly. “Alright, time to go, I guess. Go ahead,” he held out a hand then let it drop. His head hung down futilely.

“Aiden?”

He lifted his head back up. “What?”

“I’m going to be blunt.’ She leaned her head in slightly closer to him. “Do you wish to stay in Equestria?”

“What?” His mind caught up to him mouth in that one second. “Yes! I-I mean… yes. Yes I would.” He chuckled nervously, hoping that she wasn’t just making a joke out of the situation.

“Good. Then you may stay,” she finished with a smile.

“Just like that?” Aiden asked with trepidation.

“My sister and I have come to the conclusion that, while you do seem a bit of a threat, it’s not directed at my little ponies, and I trust that you will keep it that wa-”

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?” roared a somewhat familiar voice. Aiden and Celestia’s eyes shot to the bars of the cell where they witnessed a very heavy-looking iron door fly by and slam onto the floor.

“We’re in here,” called Celestia.

Hoofstep- no, footsteps echoed loudly down the hallway and approached Aiden’s cell. He knew who it would be before the intruder even reached them.

“I go home to find Twilight looking all smug about something, so I ask why, and I find out that the first human that I’ve seen in months was taken prisoner!” Lucien stomped into view and stopped just outside the cell. He put his hands on the bars and, seemingly without much effort, bent them apart and stepped into the cavity in the wall. “At least I got here before you got a chance to deport the boy!” He gestured wildly to Aiden, whose jaw was down in shock.

“Twenty-six minutes, you’re losing your touch, Lucien,” said a grinning Celestia.

Lucien’s eyes widened and he took a step towards the princess. “Don’t try to joke your way out of this one, I’m not letting you kick him off this world.”

Her amused expression fell flat upon witnessing his actions. “Don’t forget that just because you bested my sister and I once, that it will happen a second time,” she said coldly.

Lucien seemed to acknowledge his mistake and regained his composure, awkwardly nudging his backpack into a more comfortable position. “Right, right. Of course. Sorry.” Then fire filled his eyes again. “But that still doesn’t mean that I’m letting you deport Aiden without at least-”

“I’m not.”

“...What?”

“I’m not deporting him. In fact, I’d like you to take him back to Ponyville as soon as possible and get him integrated into society.”

“What?!” both the men gasped.

“But I’m on business right now! The only reason I’m here is because I needed to save his sorry ass!” Lucien pointed at Aiden.

“Hey! My ass is not sorry.” said Aiden, offended.

“Apologies, but my point still stands! I have important business to take care of in Cloudsdale, and you know that! Besides, what’s the harm in letting him stay in his shack in the Everfree?”

Lucien somehow managed to ignore the glare Aiden was giving him and kept his eyes on Celestia as she began to speak.

“Because he has explicitly stated that he finds ponykind ‘fascinating,’ and I believe that he will benefit from being able to interact among the citizens freely.”

“Okay, but-”

“Actually, I’ve already been doing that,” interrupted Aiden.

“...What?” Two pairs of eyes fixed on him at once.

“I made a potion that transforms me into a pony for a few hours at a time. I’ve been visiting Ponyville almost daily since the first few weeks that I got here.”

“That’s very resourceful of you.” Celestia commented. “Tell me, how did you manage to make such a potion?” She asked.

“I just happened to do a bit of research on some of the plants in the Everfree and managed to make a potion out of them. One of the ingredients the locals happen to call Poison Joke.” He explained.

Lucien blinked. “That’s actually pretty clever. I’m not the most professional alchemist, being self-taught, but I wouldn’t have thought to make a polymorph potion out of Poison Joke.”

“It wasn’t easy at first, but once I figured out what effects each plant had I was able to deduct which ones were more useful.”

“Okay, but how did nopony notice you?” He facepalmed. “I’m saying nopony. I’ve gone native.”

“Oh, you mean when I first entered Equestria.” Aiden thought for moment. “Well, I just cast an illusion on the ponies at the time. For the most part, I was lucky enough to make it out of the library in Ponyville in time with some notes from specific books.”

“I could never get the hang of illusion magic. Too much finesse involved. It’s much easier to just overpower my enemies with sheer force. My sparring partners all agree,” said Lucien with a bemused smile.

“Illusion magic was something I immediately taught myself after becoming a mage. I needed creative ways of escaping from unnecessary conflict…” he trailed off.

“While that is very interesting, Aiden,” interrupted Celestia, “There are more pressing matters at hand. Such as getting you introduced to Ponyville.”

Aiden blinked a few times before realizing that he and Lucien strayed from the original topic. “Oh, sorry. I guess I’ll go ahead and get ready. No time to waste, am I right?” He hopped off the cot and stretched. After a few satisfying pops he made his way out of the cell.

“Aiden?”

“Yes, Celestia?”

“How exactly do you expect you’ll be getting to Ponyville?”

Aiden halted and did an about face. “I’m ready when you are.”

“Good. We’re taking the carriage. Lucien?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you put the door back and tell the guards to get the carriage ready?”

“Sure.” He turned around and bent the cage’s bars again to walk out, this time leaving a space for Aiden and Celestia to walk through. “Yo, guard! Come here!” he said, his voice fading as he walked out of their earshot.

Celestia facehoofed. “I guess I’ll call the architect again and have him fix the cell.” She smiled at Aiden. “We should get going. It’s already late afternoon, if my estimation is correct.” She walked to the bent bars and held out a wing. “Come along then.”

Aiden followed Celestia out of the cell. He looked back for a brief moment at the bent bars of his now-old cell. ‘Gotta remind myself not to push him, or I could end up like that.’ He faced forward again and exited the dungeons.

Author's Notes:

Let me know what you thought about this chapter. I had quite a bit of fun writing this. I will have even more fun with the next one :D

If you think this seems like it's unfinished or if you think there's something wrong. Let me know, and it will undergo immediate editing.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed.

PS: Here is The Link for Ungrounded. (For those who have yet to look at it.)

Chapter 3

The ride back to Ponyville was lengthy, and Aiden admired the scenery around him to pass the time. The breeze blew against his face as he looked over the side of the carriage to see the green meadows below him. Princess Celestia, who was riding with him back to Ponyville, glanced over at him every so often. She seemed curious about him since she had visited him in the dungeons. She her reasons too. If she was to let this man stay in her land, she had to get to know a little more about him.

“So, Aiden,” Celestia addressed, “What initially sparked your interest in magic?”

He was caught off guard by this question as he looked over to the princess of the sun. He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. “I guess it would be the fact that I was always the adventurous type when I was younger. That, and I always had a special interest for the supernatural. What it all amounted to in the end is that I always liked fantasy.”

“What magic do you specialize in?” She questioned him further.

“At first I wanted to learn the clerical arts. The art of healing, and restoration,” he explained, “Turns out that it was much too complicated for my taste. If I am not mistaken, it would take about five years to reach Priest status. So I just taught myself the basics and moved on.” Aiden thought a little harder about the types of magic he dedicated himself to, and how he started to learn it. “The professions I trained myself in the most was illusion magic, and alteration.”

“Why those two and nothing else?”

“They didn’t take as much time to gain experience in, and I thought they would be a good place to start. Plus, I tended to be more on the run since I turned eighteen. Being able to make fools out of my opponents always gained me an advantage in running away, and being able to use my magic to boost one of my physical attributes just adds to the effect.”

Aiden continued his explanation. “How would you feel if the person you are fighting suddenly split into three identical copies, each seemingly with the same strength as the others? Or a regular punch suddenly gets multiplied in power?”

“I don’t believe I’d like my odds.” Replied Celestia with a hoof to her chin.

“Exactly.”

Celestia thought about her next series of questions. “I believe I asked you back in the dungeons how you managed to remain in secret for three years?”

“That you did,” he replied with a nod. “I started studying interdimensional travel a few months before my nineteenth birthday. I was living in a secluded area at the time, so I had at least some peace. Through my studies I learned that the more powerful entities that inhabit a world would be able to detect when a new entity has entered their land. So, I took precautions. Looked before I leaped.”

“What kind of precautions did you take?” Celestia asked with a raised brow.

“It’s hard to explain. I can’t quite place my finger on it myself, but it had to do with a spell I cast prior to my entry into this world.” He answered. “The spell used was within the realm of my illusion magic, but it had a different effect. Took me a while to get the hang of.”

Celestia continued to question Aiden about his time in Equestria, and what he has been doing for the past few years. He answered all of them to the best of his abilities. When the princess started asking him questions about his own race he started to become a little more blunt with his answers.

“Would you mind telling me what you know or think about your own race? Lucien had some… interesting things to say.”

Aiden scratched his head at this. He liked being human, and enjoyed the company of other humans. That was before he became a mage though, and went into isolation. “I’d have to say humans aren’t necessarily bad. When many said that we as humans have become so violent, ruthless, and careless over the years, I looked at it from another perspective.

“We have in fact become less brutal towards each other over the years. Anything a human being does is simply within their nature. Much like how it is natural for animals such as horses, or ponies to have a herd mentality.” He said bluntly.

“That’s… a strangely accurate way of putting it, I suppose. I did get some information from Lucien about how Earth has a species similar to ours that is domesticated.” Her eyes shifted to the scenery under them, clearly uncomfortable with the topic.

Aiden noticed the Sun Princess’s demeanor and drew in a breath and did the same. “Sorry if I offended you.”

“It’s fine.” She replied.

Several moments went by silently in the carriage until Ponyville came into view. But what they saw did not make them happy. Several buildings had caught fire, others were partially destroyed, and ponies could be seen off in the distance trying to fight of some monstrosities. Celestia was speechless, and Aiden was aghast. She looked over and noticed his widened eyes, his jaw hanging low.

“Aiden,” she addressed him in a firm tone, “Can you tell me what meaning of this is?”

He stumbled with his words as he tried to find the proper ones to say. He put a hand to his head and answered. “I-I….”

Celestia narrowed her gaze at him. “Is this your doing? Did you intend to do my subjects harm?”

“No! I…” He glanced down at the town and then back to her, pupils dilated in quickly increasing panic. “This has to stop!” And with that, he vaulted over the side of the carriage. As he descended to the ground he channelled some magic to his feet, allowing him to land some clouds on the way down. He leapt off of each one until he touched down on the ground. Once he was in the town he observed the scene before him. Homes were on fire, and the town hall was in ruins. Some ponies were running around and screaming for their lives, others were trying to fight their attackers to little avail. It was a nightmare.

It was too much to take in. ‘How could this have happened?’ His thoughts came to a halt when a shadow crept hastily along the ground behind him, sending a chill down his spine. He continued to scan the area and noticed several golems slowly approach him. He looked up around him and saw a few phantasmal figures quickly disappear from above. He could feel the air around him getting colder as they started to get closer. He balled his hands into fists and gritted his teeth. He took in a deep breath and shouted. “Stop this instant!” They didn’t listen.

Soon he was surrounded by his own servants. Sentinels, Watchers, and golems all stood around their former master. “Return back to the forest. Now.” His words were not loud, but they were strong.

The former minions drew in closer to him with aggression. “They’re not listening to me,” he said to himself. They slowly made their way towards him. Aiden pondered for a moment about what he should do. He would have to destroy them all. He knew how he was going to do it, but its success was entirely dependent on his abilities.

A golem came in from behind and lifted its hulking stone arm into the air and prepared to slam it down on Aiden. He took notice of the growing shadow and looked back. Just before the giant pile of rock and scrap could smash him, he quickly jumped out of the way of the falling mass. The mage rolled on the ground and took a second to recover.

‘That was too close.’ He thought as he got back on his feet. He looked at his surrounding offenders, and noticed a few Watchers were missing. The atmosphere around him started to get even colder. He knew that these things weren’t just for patrol and were fully capable of killing. When they got destructive they set things ablaze, and when they got murderous, they would freeze the air around their victims to hinder mobility. Then they would move in for the kill.

Aiden could feel the air around him getting colder. The bone chilling cold was now nipping at his flesh as frost gradually formed on his clothes and body. His own breath was visible and to him it was a clear sign that one of the creatures was right on top of him. It gave some advantage due to his knowledge on these creatures. As soon as he felt the creature’s dark, icy hand quickly reached for him, he spun around and shot his left arm into its dark abyss of a body. The Watcher’s movements came to a grind halt as Aiden clenched a thick, solid object in its chest he perceived to be its heart.

The dark creature’s body slowly caused frost to form over Aiden’s arm. It was quickly succumbing to frostbite which is the Watcher’s best defense when an opponent makes physical contact with it. He squeezed his hand closed as hard he could on the creature’s heart. It was proving to be fruitless as the cold continued ravaging his body. The monster’s arm slowly made its way to its former master, attempting to end his life right then. Aiden could feel the freeze get stronger as the Watcher’s hand drew in closer to him. He clenched his teeth as if he was biting down on something to ignore the pain that came along with the numbing sensation that was overtaking his arm. He crushed his hand tighter around it. Finally, with an outcry of pain enough adrenaline shot through his body to crush the creature’s heart.

Aiden stood for a moment as the Watcher before him start to dissipate into specs of dust and mist. His arm fell down to his side. It was now completely useless at this point. With no time to recover from it, he had to quickly take care of the rest of the monsters which currently stood around him. They awaited for another to approach their former master. Some remained still while a shadow he easily identified as a Sentinel quickly charged in and pulled on his leg and dragged him across the ground.

As the Sentinel dragged him across the ground, he looked up to see a golem with his fists ready to pound his head in. He quickly brought his hand to his mouth and hastily whispered a few words into it. A light surrounded Aiden’s hand after he finished his enchantment. He brought his enchanted hand down to the ground on top of the shadow and in a flash of light, the creature’s grip loosened and shot away from him. Aiden wasted no time as he rapidly got to his feet and ran out of the way of the golem’s falling fist.

But before he could attack the hulking enemy, a light flashed before his eyes and suddenly two light blue chakrams were sticking out of parts of its neck. “Aiden!” It stumbled back a step and reached up its two massive hands to try to scratch them out. But before he could do so, a familiar-looking man flew in with a full-body kick to send the thing crashing to the ground. “You’ve got some ‘splainin’ to do!”

“What the hell was that?! You could have gotten yourself killed!” Aiden yelled.

“Yeah,” said Lucien, smashing the Golem’s face in with a warhammer, “But I didn’t.”

Aiden shook his head. “This is my mess. I should be the one who cleans it up.”

“Rule one of life on Earth. Make sure you know what you’re up against.” His hammer disappeared and reformed as a sword. “Rule two of life on Earth. Don’t ever refuse help when offered.” His eyes flicked to somewhere behind Aiden. “Rule three, DUCK!”

Aiden quickly turned around to see another Sentinel swipe its claw-like hand at his head. Before it could reach him, his head was roughly forced down, and he felt the air of a sword swing pass over him. He slowly looked upward to see Lucien’s blade had cut the creature in two.

“We should probably talk later. You know, after we mercilessly slaughter every creature in Ponyville that isn’t a pony.” He paused in thought. “Or a human. Or a griffin, or… you get the idea.”

Aiden let out a breath. “You’re right,” he said as he slowly rose his head back up. His eyes locked on to a golem off to the left with his right hand clenched into a fist. He brought his unfrozen hand to his mouth and whispered a few words into it. A light blue aura glowed around his hand as he charged after his target. He rolled across the ground to dodge a heavy fist swiped at him by the metal monstrosity, then he followed with a swift uppercut that split the entire creature in half! His breathing became heavier after the attack, and fatigue set into his limbs immediately.

“Nice going with that power fist, man. I saw that,” Lucien said from directly behind him while beheading a Watcher.

“Can’t you take anything seriously? I mean, stop being so casual about everything! You’re slashing that thing’s head off for Christ’s sake!” Aiden shouted.

Lucien shrugged. “When you’ve been doing this for as long as I have, it stops becoming a big deal. Besides, I’ve seen worse than these.” He sheathed his sword, letting it rest on his back. “Besides, I just fought like, twenty of these earlier.”

“Don’t remind me.” Aiden replied.

“Okay, I won’t.” And with that, he spun around and hurled his sword at another golem. While it spun through the air, green mana coalesced on his hands and took the shape of claws. He ran off to go chase his sword down.

Aiden turned to a group of Watchers and sentinels in front of him. ‘Never thought I’d have to do this again.’ He then widened his eyes and opened his palms. A magical pulse shot from his body and in an instant, there were multiple copies of himself standing next to him. He and few clones took a step forward. After a few slow steps they all bolted from their positions after their targets. He charged in along with them as he and the clones coordinated positions to effectively take out the creatures that have already started to charge back at them.

As a clone got close to a Watcher, Aiden closed his right hand into a fist. His illusion exploded right in the face of the creature. The result of this was fatal as the creature shattered into dust from the massive blast. Aiden did this several more times with each of his illusions, but started to use them more sparingly. He regrouped with his remaining clones and widened his again as he clenched his right hand into a fist again. Another pulse of magical force surged through his body.

His eyes shifted to the illusion next to him and blinked. It darted off to the creatures and leapt after them. He clenched his right hand closed again, except slower and with a tightened force. The illusion’s body glowed lightly with the light blue aura and detonated. The explosion was much bigger this time as it took out several more of its targets. Aiden sent the remaining illusions after the creatures and after several more explosions, they were no more than tiny specks of debris.

He looked around and saw that Lucien was gone. He shrugged it off and dismissed it, deciding that the crazed man probably ran off chasing some creature across Ponyville. He turned around to see a golem with its fist ready to swing at him. Before he could react, Aiden felt the wind shoot from his lungs and felt himself flying across town and felt the wood of a building splinter beneath his back with traumatizing force.

“Ugh,” Aiden let out a pain-filled groan.

“Oh, uh, Aiden! Um, how’s it going out there?” he heard a familiar voice say.

“Just got sent soaring across town by one of my own golems. Maybe even cracked a couple ribs. Doing just fine,” he answered sarcastically as he laid in the pile of debris.

Lucien reached down a hand and hefted him up. “Back on your feet, then. We still have work to do. Or, rather, you still have work to do. I need to get this hole in my jeans repaired.”

Aiden regained his posture and held his frozen arm. “So that’s why you’re here?! Just because you had a hole burnt into your jeans?!” He facepalmed.

“Hey, man. Don’t hate on the jeans. I practically live in these things.” As he spoke, he reached out a hand and thawed out Aiden’s frozen arm.

Aiden lifted his now unfrozen arm up and flexed his hand. “Thank you,” he commented, “But that doesn’t excuse you abandoning the fight.”

“Are you sure? I thought it was a pretty solid excuse. Jeans are really important, you know. Besides, Rarity and I were just about to go back out and continue fighting.”

“Erm,” Rarity spoke up for the first time since Aiden’s entrance. “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. Nor was I aware another one of your kind is in Equestria, Lucien.” She took a step forward and held out a dainty hoof. “I am—”

“Rarity,” he interrupted.

“Well, yes.” She blinked. “But how do you know that? Perhaps you’ve heard of my designs on… Earth, was it?” she asked with a hopeful eye-flutter.

Aiden shook his head. “I have indeed heard of your designs, but not on Earth. Lets say I have been doing a bit of undercover research of your world for three years whilst undetected until now.”

Lucien rubbed the back of his neck. “Nice phrasing there, dude…”

Rarity, for her part, looked horrified. “You’ve been spying on us?!”

“Not spying. You remember a unicorn by the name of Prism?” Aiden replied hastily.

“Well, yes, I do, but how does that—”

“That was me.”

“You must be joking. That can’t be possible!” Her eyes betrayed her. The statement was a lie and she knew it. “You ordered clothes from me…” She suddenly straightened up. “But that still doesn’t excuse you! Why were you lying to us about this for so long?”

“I was paranoid, or scared, rather. I kept myself isolated in the Everfree Forest to stay hidden, until I knew for sure it was safe for me to come out of hiding,” he answered. “I won’t ask you to forgive me for lying, nor will I ask you all to forgive me for bringing these disloyal abominations to lay waste to your town.”

She looked at him, her face devoid of any smile. “You aren’t forgiven, not yet. But I hope you are helping us destroy what you have created.” She looked back to Lucien, who was standing on the sidelines with an unreadable face. “We should go.” She flipped her poleaxe around and let it rest by her side, levitating gently in her magical grip.

Aiden looked over to Rarity and took notice of the weapon she held. “I’ve never noticed you knew how to use a weapon. Where did you get it?”

“Last winter. A horde of creatures from Earth invaded Ponyville. Lucien gave the girls and I weapons and we fought back.” She looked at Lucien. “I kept practicing with mine, but I’m not sure if the rest of the girls did the same. I suppose we’ll find out in a few minutes.”

“The rest of you have weapons as well? You think you’ve learned everything, but some things tend to elude you in isolation I guess,” he commented.

“Yes, well, if you had bothered to come out like this and introduce yourself, then maybe you would learn something.” Her voice was hard, betraying her feelings towards Aiden’s actions.

“Then I guess it wasn’t something that I thought was important at the time. I more or less just indulge myself in what your world had to offer.”

“Hmm. Let’s go,” Lucien broke in. “We have some work to get done.”

Aiden nodded and headed out the door. “Oh, and I will fix up this mess after this is all said and done. I promise,” he said before exiting the Boutique.

“Don’t worry, I’ll fix up the place!” Lucien called after him, but he was hardly listening by that point.

*****

Aiden arrived back at the middle of town to witness Celestia and the young alicorn he recognized as Twilight fighting back the dreaded creatures he had summoned. He stopped to think for a moment about how she might react to seeing him after his screw up. ‘She’ll probably just have me arrested again. Or maybe even worse.’ He watched as they brought down the creatures before them, and noticed Celestia look in his direction with a look of disappointment and walk over with other alicorn.

His whole body shook and his legs started to give way. He fell to his hands and knees when the princess stopped in front of him. “You have a lot to explain, Aiden.”

He only nodded in agreement as he avoided looking her in the eyes. “I’ve screwed up big time. I just...this wasn’t supposed to happen. I swear on my life.”

“Are you going to help clean up this mess you made?” Twilight asked, menacingly levitating a wooden bat towards him.

“I never wanted any of this,” he began. “I’ll right the wrongs I have made. I know a spell that can get rid of them all.” He stood back up to face both Celestia and Twilight.

“Then why haven’t you used it?” Twilight questioned.

Aiden shook his head. “It’s too much for me to handle. I can’t do it alone.”

“Can’t do what now?” asked Lucien as he ran up, slightly out of breath. His eyes shifted to Aiden’s company. “Princesses,” he said respectfully.

“Well, there’s a spell I found a while back in case something like this happened. Only problem is that I don’t possess the magical power alone to cast it,” Aiden answered.

“So I can help you with it, then? What is it?” he asked.

“It’s a spell that will open a portal that will suck all the rogue servants back to their realms. Unfortunately, it can suck the caster in along with them if he or she isn’t able sustain it with their power alone.”

Lucien stared at him. “And… you’ve tested this before, right? Because I’ve messed with portal spells before, and that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.”

Aiden shook his head. “I haven’t used it myself, per se, but it technically should work.”

Lucien just continued to stare. “Alright, but if half of Ponyville gets sucked into a different dimension, it’s coming out of your paycheck. And if I get stuck there with them, then you can be sure I’ll be back to kick your ass.”

“If this isn’t assurance for you then I don’t know what is. I came to Equestria on my own by opening an interdimensional portal using a spell I created. Took about a year, maybe longer, but that’s how I am here today. This particular spell just happens to be much more powerful than what I am used to.”

Lucien ran a hand through his hair and let out a breath. “Ah geez, alright. Just don’t screw up.” He looked out over the town. “Where are we gonna set it up?”

“The best spot would be the very center of town on top of Town Hall.”

Lucien held a hand on his forehead to block the sun’s rays as he looked towards the building. He then shrugged and looked back at Aiden. “I’m game. Let’s go.”

“Alright lets get there as quickly as possible.” Aiden turned around and started off towards Town Hall.

Before they could depart, however, Twilight rushed in front of them. “Hold on, you two are gonna go running off taking a chance on something that could potentially destroy the town!? What makes you think this is going to work!” she yelled.

Lucien rushed forward and pressed a finger to her lips harshly. “My wizard senses are telling me this will work. Now go make sure Fluttershy isn’t hurt while we nearly destroy the town.” Before she could retort, he whipped around, grabbed Aiden by the arm and sprinted off.

“Lucien! Get back here!” Twilight shouted, chasing after them.

“Nope!” he turned his head to yell. Then, to Aiden, “Can you run a little faster? She’s surprisingly quick.” He unsheathed his sword and quickly lopped the head off a nearby Watcher.

“Of course I can.” Aiden started to take bigger strides as he channelled his magic through his body. “How’s this?” He asked as he started to speed up.

“Better.” The man was somehow able to keep pace with Aiden as they swiftly crossed town, taking out any creatures that tried to intercept them on their course.

After about ten minutes of running the duo finally made it to Town Hall. Aiden looked around to see if any creatures were in sight. A few streets off in the distance he spotted two ponies engaged in combat, one on the ground, one in the air. He immediately recognized them as Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

AJ was whipping around two chains wrapped around her forehooves, striking any monsters nearby and creating a near impenetrable barrier of metal. Dash was dive-bombing the taller creatures and slashing them quickly with a katana.

“Did you give them those?” Aiden asked Lucien.

The man looked over at the fight. “Yeah. Though Applejack only had one chain, last I saw.” He shrugged it off and looked up at the building before them. “Well, up we go.” Lucien unsheathed his sword, took aim, and hurled it up towards the top of the building. It spun through the air, then, when it stuck into the wood, Lucien was suddenly there, hanging on to the handle.

Aiden stood for a moment to observe all the damage that had been done by his former servants. ‘Time to clean up my mess’ he thought. Aiden spawned a couple illusions of himself. They squatted down and held their hands out for support. He placed a food on their hands and steadied himself. He then nodded his head at them and then was thrust into the air with much force and landed on the roof with Lucien.

Aiden produced a marker in his hand and started to quickly draw runes for the spell into the roof of the building. He glanced over his shoulders to see if any creatures were rushing after him and Lucien. He widened his eyes and sweat started to rapidly slide down his forehead. “Can we get Rainbow Dash and Applejack to fight them off while I draw these runes? It’ll take some time to connect them all.”

“Yeah, and you’re gonna have to teach me those. I’ll paint them on the other side,” he said while removing a can of spray paint from his backpack. “HEY APPLEJACK! RAINBOW DASH! LITTLE HELP OVER HERE!”

Aiden facepalmed. “I could have just done that myself…”

Lucien turned around and shrugged. “Hey man, you asked.”

They both looked down at the sounds of skirmish and saw the two ponies had reached the building. Rainbow Dash flew up to talk to the two of them while Applejack stayed on the ground and fought back any enemies.

“Hey Lucien, whaddya need?” She peered by him to look at Aiden. “And who’s the guy?” she half-whispered to him.

“Hey, I’m right here you know,” Aiden stated flatly. “Name’s Aiden by the way.” He answered as he continued to draw the runes.

Dash just stared at him. “Uh, yeah. Anyways, what do you want? Can’t you see we’re busy fighting to take the town back, not like you two. What are you doing, even?” She looked at Aiden drawing on the roof. “Dude. Graffiti isn’t cool. I’m all up for pranks and stuff, but—”

“It’s not graffiti, we’re making runes. For a spell. To save the town,” Lucien interrupted. “So,” he clapped his hands together. “While we’re doing that, can you two,” he pointed to Rainbow and AJ down below, “Not let us get interrupted. It would suck a lot to mess this up.” Before Rainbow could respond, he pressed a finger to her mouth and leaned close to her face. “Like a lot. So go kill things,” he whispered before nudging her off the roof.

“Hey!” She glared at him for a minute, but then looked down at AJ, holding her own against a group of monsters. “Fine, but you owe me!” With that bit out of the way, she sped down to go hold the ground.

“Yeah, yeah.” He turned back to Aiden and popped the lid off his can of spray paint. “So, what am I vandalizing?”

Aiden looked over at Lucien holding the spray paint. “I need you to cover the other end of the roof with the runes. You got any paper by any chance so I can give you the other half of the runes?”

Lucien stared at him. “The world is paper. Just draw them all out and I’ll copy them.”

Aiden pointed to a finished set of runes. “This what they’ll look like. Repeat the pattern on the other side and the runes should connect to each other.”

The man studied them for a moment. “Alright, I’ve got it.” He shook the can and began painting. After a couple of strokes, he spoke up again. “You know, these look an awful lot like the runes I used when I was trying to summon that demon that one time. Fine choice.”

“Yes they do, and they are technically. Many of them are drawn in reverse order and inverted so that when the spell is cast, it sucks in any summoned creatures within its radius instead of pulling anything out,” Aiden took a deep breath. “Now you know why this spell is so damn powerful.”

“So it was really a bad thing when my cat screwed it up? Got me here, so it couldn’t have been that bad…” he trailed off.

Aiden paid no mind to Lucien’s comment as he finished finished off the rest of the runes on his end. “Okay my end’s done. How about you?”

“Still working. These things are complicated as hell, and I never use runes anyway. I’m a little rusty, but they’ll work.” He kept spraying paint onto the surface of the roof.

Aiden turned his head to check on Rainbow Dash and Applejack. “Well, you’d best hurry that up. Those two won’t last much longer. Ugh, I’m so stupid for even summoning such things.”

He painted on a few more lines hastily. “How are they doing? And damn right you are.”

“Looks like they’re tiring out really fast,” He looked back to Lucien. “You done connecting the runes?”

“Just…about…” he paused and peered over the edge of the building. “Done!” He sprayed one final dot onto a rune he was making, then hurled the can off the building, down towards the masses of enemies Rainbow Dash and Applejack were trying to hold off. With a flourish, he withdrew his sword and pointed it at the can as it hit the ground. “Get out of the way!” he shouted to the ponies.

The two fighters looked up at him and quickly dodged into the building. Lucien’s sword glowed for a split-second, and a small shot of energy sparked out the top. Aiden’s eyes tracked its progress to see it was aimed directly at the can of spray paint. The pressurized can of spray paint.

Lucien grinned. The can exploded, instantly destroying several monsters within its small radius and splattering the rest with black paint. Before those who had been stained could react, the paint covering them melted into them and reduced them to puddles of goop on the ground.

Aiden looked the runes over to make sure they were inscribed appropriately. After a thorough inspection he decided it was time to activate them. He channeled magic into his hand and pressed it against the runes. As he did they lit up and he could feel powerful vibrations of magical energy through his body. “Back to the abyss!” he shouted as he pushed his palms out to release, causing a hole to appear and suck in all of the rogue servants.

“You were right about this being powerful! This is straining even my power reserves!” Aiden heard Lucien shout from the opposite side of the roof.

“Just...keep it up! There isn’t that much to go!” Aiden felt his vision blur up. The amount of magical power he was putting out to fuel the spell was taking a toll on him. His heart rate began to slow and felt his body get heavier. “Damn it...” He cursed as he fought to remain conscious.

He suddenly felt a huge influx of power. “Hey! Don’t go passing out on me! We haven’t cleared out the town yet!” Lucien tried to sound reassuring, but Aiden could hear the note of strain in his voice.

Aiden shifted his eyes around and saw that most of the town had been cleared. It wouldn’t be long until each and every one of these vile things were sucked back into the cold dark abysmal depths of purgatory. He could feel the mass presence of his former servants leave this world. ‘Just a few more,’ he thought. As the spell became too much for him to handle he let out a shout, pushing a small final burst of magical power into the spell. He watched as the last of the creatures got sucked into the vortex and the spell slowly started to wane shortly after.

The portal shrunk until it faded from existence. He let out a few huffs of air and slowly felt himself fall forward. His felt himself slip off the roof of the Town Hall building and fall off.

He plummeted towards the ground rapidly, just as rapidly accepting the fact that he wouldn’t be able to slow or stop his fall. “GRAB HIM!” he heard a voice call from below his feet. Not a second afterward, he felt his body hit something soft and furry, and heard a quiet grunt of pain at the same time.

“Gotcha, partner.”

“Ah’m so stupid…” Aiden said as his accent broke.

“Nice catch, AJ,” said Lucien as he floated down gently from the rooftop. “Also everything’s dead, technically, so job well-done. You’ve gotten pretty good with those chains.”

“Thank you kindly. Now, would ya mind telling me who this fella’ is?” she said, gesturing to Aiden as she gently rolled him onto the grass.

Aiden breathed heavily with his right hand over his heart. “Name’s Aiden,’ he strained an answer. “Ah’ was the one who summoned those damned things. They weren’t supposed to leave the Everfree, but Ah’ miscalculated.” He raised his hand to his head. “To be even more honest Ah’ was also that pony named Prism that would come strollin’ into town every once in a while,” he took in a deep breath. “Ah’ve been in Equestria for three years, and remained in secret inside the Everfree doing research on your world,” He struggled to sit up to continue. “If anything, Ah’m sorry for everything really. Ah’ll do what it takes to fix up your town. Then Ah’ll be sure to exile myself after.”

“I…uh…that’s a lot to take in, partner.” She stood over him and offered a hoof. “How ‘bout we get this mess cleaned up and you can explain yourself afterwards?”

Aiden took it gratefully and rose to his feet.

“Yeah, we left a bit of a mess,” said Lucien. But before he could continue, Celestia and Twilight walked up to join their group.

“It worked! We were fighting those things in front of the library and then they got sucked into your portal! I can’t believe you made that work!” Twilight said excitedly.

“It was a most admirable feat,” said Celestia humbly, her eyes focused on Aiden. “Although I expect these damages to be cleaned up post-haste. By you, Aiden.”

Aiden bowed his head. “Of course. I would do anything to atone for my mistakes.” He tried to take a step forward, but his leg couldn’t take the weight. He stumbled, but Applejack rushed up and braced against his side.

“You ain’t in any condition to work. You need to get some rest.” She looked up at Celestia. “D’you mind if he takes a quick nap by the farm, princess? He looks pretty spent.”

Celestia unfurled a wing, pointing it towards AJ’s farm. “Then go. He does look exhausted.”

Aiden mumbled a thanks and walked off with Applejack by his side, halfway supporting him. As they walked off, he could hear Lucien and Twilight begin talking.

“What, don’t I look tired too? I was right there with him! Don’t I deserve a nap?” he asked.

“WHAT THE BUCK JUST HAPPENED!” said a loud, angry voice, accompanied by the sound of splintering wood.

Aiden spun around to see a furious Mayor Mare burst out of the Town Hall building. Her eyes quickly locked onto Lucien, who was standing just by the door. “YOU! I KNEW YOU WERE NOTHING BUT TROUBLE WHEN YOU WALKED IN!”

“Hey, don’t blame me!” he shouted, holding his hands up in a show of innocence. His eyes locked on to Aiden’s and he gave an ounce of a grin. “Blame him! It was his idea!” he yelled and pointed at Aiden.

“Oh crap.” Aiden spun around and started to pick up the pace. “Go. Go. Go,” he said to Applejack as he heard Mayor Mare let off another shout of anger.

“THERE’S ANOTHER ONE—”

“Mayor Mare,” Celestia’s calm voice cut through the mayor’s like a hot knife through butter. “If I may have a word?”

“Eh heh. Heh heh heh…” he heard Mayor Mare whimper out. “I apologize, Princess, but Ponyville is destroyed!”

“Yes it is, but it shall be cleaned up and rebuilt. That man walking away is responsible for this carnage, and as such, shall be the one to fix up the town. He’s just suffering from mana exhaustion,” Celestia calmed the mayor down like a true professional.

Aiden couldn’t make out the last few words exchanged by the group, as he and Applejack were already retreating out of the town.

Author's Notes:

I think there maybe some edits done to this chapter in the future. Eh....

I really enjoyed this chapter because I really got to delve into what Aiden's really capable of.

He's fully capable of offense and defense and I really think this chapter got that across. Hopefully.

Also, remember, Aiden is from Texas so his normal accent is exactly like Applejack's.

I still got a lot of future chapters outline in my head, and I normally come up with these ideas while I'm at work or while I am sleeping. It helps me to have this on my mind because it'll better help me organize my writing and help me know when to place certain scenes and situations and moments.

I still do not hold my own fic on a pedestal as it doesn't even hold a candle to a lot of other works out there.

PS: Sandcroft wrote quite a bit of the ending scene though it was a lot of work for both of us. Outlining this thing though was not easy. And sorry for the long update. Sandcroft was really busy, and we're trying to get into a routine where we can start pushing out a chapter a bit faster. However he will not be available this week. So I'll be working on some other stories in the mean time.

Check out the fic! Ungrounded

Chapter 4

Aiden was unconscious after yesterday’s events and Applejack was kind enough to give him a place to rest. He was drained from using up just about whatever magical power he had in him to cast that spell. His eyelids twitched as he began to wake up. His vision was a bit blurry, but once it finally cleared it up he saw that he was laying in a bed. He slowly shifted eyes around until they found Applejack herself walking into the room he was in.

She trotted over to him and gave him a worried look. “You okay there, partner?”

Aiden slowly brought a hand to his face and groaned. He let it fall onto his chest and answered, “I’m fine.” He took a another moment to look around the room he was in. “Where am I anyway?”

“You’re at Sweet Apple Acres. I took ya’ inside the house so you can get some rest. I couldn’t just let you sleep on the couch, so I let you use my bed.”

His eyes widened a bit and his cheeks filled with a light red. “The couch would’ve been fine. I’m quite used to things like that.”

“Nuh uh. No way am I goin’ to let a guest be uncomfortable. Now, I didn’t quite catch your name earlier. What was it?”

“Aiden,” he answered.

“And you’re a human just like Lucien?”

“Yes, I am.”

Applejack sat on her haunches and lifted a hoof to her chin. “So, how did you ever end up in Equestria? What’s your story?”

He lowered his head at the question. If he told her everything, she wouldn’t be able to trust him, or forgive him. He had to suck it up though, he wasn’t raised to be the secretive type unless it was personal. He took in a deep breath and prepared to tell her everything she needed to know.

“Well, as you know, I’m a mage. When I turned eighteen some really... despicable people found out what I was. I don’t know exactly how they were able to just suddenly know; they just knew. They have been following me ever since. Always one step behind, snapping at my heels… I just wanted to get away from them, I never did anything wrong! So, a close friend of mine, who was also a mage, decided that we would study interdimensional travel,” for a moment, Aiden froze. He stared up at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity.

“Uh, hello? Aiden. You there?” Applejack waved a hoof in front of him to get his attention.

He shook his head and blinked a few times before looking back at her. “Oh, sorry. I just caught up in some memories. Anyway, we had our disagreements here and there, but we managed to pull through most of it until…” He took in a breath and gripped his arms, and looked down.

“Until what?” Asked Applejack.

“Until he did something stupid I told him never to do, “ he answered.

“What was that?”

“He opened up a forbidden tome that contained corrupt spirits and demons. I told him never to read any of the incantations, but he did it anyway. I… was eventually forced to kill him because they managed to completely possess him,” his eyes shuttered. “I don’t take a life unless it’s absolutely necessary, but sometimes you do what you need to do. Even if it means killing a friend to truly save them from the suffering they would have to endure if they were to live. In retrospect, I did him a favor,” he crossed his arms.

Applejack was baffled by what she had just heard. He killed somepony?! He didn’t even sound remorseful! “Why in tarnation would you do such a thing?”

“If someone you cared for was… gone, and the only way to rescue them was the release of death, would you do it?” He asked.

“I would have still looked for alternatives or looked for help,” Applejack retorted.

Aiden was left speechless. “Help,” was all that he whispered to himself. She had a point. He took in another breath and continued. “I think it’s time I moved onto how I got here.”

“That would probably be best. I’m not too fond of hearin’ about death. Seeing and hearing about the things Lucien has done freaks me out enough.”

“Alright then,” he raised an eyebrow. He would have to ask Lucien about his time here in Equestria and what he used to do before that, but he would have to save that for another time. “Anyway, after sometime I managed to finish the research we started together. About a month after I had turned twenty, the spell was ready, and I prepared myself for interdimensional travel and arrived here after traveling through the rift.”

“Where have you been this entire time? I don’t remember seeing you around Ponyville before,” she pointed out with her head tilted.

“I stayed within the confines of the Everfree,” he answered. “It was the best place I could be to remain hidden.”

“What have you been doing the entire time?”

“Research.”

“For what?”

“Well, I knew that I was in another dimension or world at the time, so I decided to get to know what inhabited it, and so on.”

“So you’ve been spyin’ on us?”

“Uh, no.” Aiden wasn’t sure how to put it, but he might as well just tell her what she needed to hear. “I was more or less roaming amongst you in plain sight.”

“How in tarnation were you able to do that?”

“I disguised myself as a pony.”

Applejack’s mouth opened for a moment and closed. She didn’t know what to think. How could he change himself into a pony? “H-how did you manage to do that? The only things that I know are able to change their appearances are changelings.”

“I concocted a special special potion that could change one’s appearance. The process is really painful though, and I would rather not describe it.”

“Okay. Did you happen to go by another name or did you keep using yours?”

“I went by the name of Prism actually.”

Applejack’s eyes went wide. “Impossible!”

Aiden nodded at the fact that it was possible. Applejack scowled at Aiden. “So, you’ve been lyin’ to us the entire time?!”

Aiden lowered his head. “I was scared. Anyone I came into contact with was immediately found because they had some association with me, and they were immediately disposed of. I couldn’t risk that happening. I only wanted to be able to live life freely,” his voice began to waver. “I wanted to get away, but even in another world I felt unsafe. Everytime I turn my head over my shoulder I could swear I’m being watched. I left so much behind coming here. I’ll never be able to see my family, or anyone else ever again.”

Applejack sat there as she continued to to narrow her eyes at him. Aiden looked back up at her. “Like I said: I’ll leave once I am done fixing everything. You won’t have to see me again.”

“I don’t understand why you couldn’t just come out, and introduce yourself in the first place.”

He shook his head. “I came here a year before Lucien did. It’s been three years, and I doubt your first encounter with him was a social one. I also didn’t want to take risks, and have something like that happen.”

She put a hoof behind her head after hearing his explanation. “I guess that makes sense,” she replied and fixed him once more with another scowl. “That still doesn’t excuse you at all.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

She took a deep breath to relax herself. “Listen, you don’t have to disappear forever after cleaning your mess. We’ll forgive you eventually.”

Aiden shook his head again. He wasn’t going to argue, but this wasn’t just your normal incident. It was bigger than that! The entire town was nearly destroyed and she assures him that all the ponies would forgive him at some point? He doubted it. He wouldn’t forgive him if he was a pony. He thought that she was just probably saying that to assure him.

“I really don’t want to cause anymore trouble than I have. I feel as if I already overstayed my welcome here,” he finally replied.

Applejack opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off as the wooden door to the room creaked open. “You what now?” said Lucien as he walked in, rather rudely. The rest of the door swung open to reveal a face-hoofing Twilight Sparkle.

Aiden looked over and gawked at Lucien for a moment. “Uhm, hi.”

“Yeah, so, just came to make sure you weren’t dead. That’s important. Mana exhaustion is the leading cause of magically induced deaths,” Lucien said cheerfully.

“He’s fine now, just needed a good night’s sleep,” she said, her cheeks tinged slightly red from the serious conversation Lucien had just burst in on.

Lucien didn’t seem to notice. “That’s also helpful. Oh!” he suddenly flung his backpack around and unzipped it. “Here,” he said, tossing Aiden a can of soda, which he barely caught, surprised by the sudden flying cylinder. “Drink it, I made it myself. Restores mana. It’s like a Red Bull for magic.”

“Okay,” Aiden replied raising a brow. The can made a hiss as he pulled the tab open. He slowly brought the can to his lips to take a sip. After a few gulps he waited. He felt stirring inside him as his mana reserves started to steadily replenishing itself. “Whoa.”

Lucien offered him a grin. “Yeah, it does that. Anyway, we still have work to do.” He held up his hand to stop, as if suddenly realizing something. “Wait, you have some work to do. I should probably get going to Cloudsdale. Twilight?” he turned around to look at her, then pointed. “You’re coming with me.”

“What? Why?” she asked, clearly confused.

Lucien shrugged. “I’m lonely.”

“Aww, and I guess you might want your favorite blanket too?” Aiden interjected mockingly.

Lucien spun back around, still pointing, though now at Aiden. “And you can shut your face. Now,” he pointed upward and said, “We go!” He triumphantly exited the room, leaving a still-confused Twilight in his wake.

Aiden let out a breath of air. “I guess I should be getting up to help fix the town,” he threw the blankets off his body and turned to put his feet on the ground. He put one hand on the bed for support and slowly stood up.

“Hey, Aiden, I saw you using some magic in the fight yesterday that was really dissimilar to what I’ve seen from Lucien. Do you think you could explain a little bit to me?” She was looking at him with such hopeful, large eyes that he found it hard to resist, as if he would in the first place.

“I don’t see why not,” he took a moment to think out his explanation. “The magic I use is illusion, for the most part. Mainly focuses on messing with the minds of your opponents. Good for quick getaways, or at least that’s what I tend to use it for. I create clones of myself, or even mess with my opponent’s mind so much that they begin to see things that aren’t really there,” he pondered for a brief moment, “But that doesn’t mean the magic is any less dangerous. The illusions can do some real damage to the mind of the one it’s affecting, and do physical harm as well.”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought, no doubt making some mental note. “Fascinating. So you can control illusions of yourself? Are they physically present? Can they manipulate objects like we can?”

“Yes, yes, and yes,” he answered.

“Hmm…” she raised a hoof to ask another question, but instead let out a surprised yelp as a hand reached in from the hallway and snagged Twilight, pulling her out of the room. “Hey! I wasn’t done!” Aiden heard her say as she was man-handled down the stairs.

Aiden shrugged. “I was really hoping that would last a little longer.”

“Well, uh, that just happened,” Applejack said from the side of the room.

“Yup,” Aiden replied. “So, I guess I should head to town now.” He was about to head out when he was stopped by a sudden rumble in his stomach. He put a hand across it. “The most important meal of the day is one of many things I tend to forget during my times of research and study.”

“There’s breakfast if you’re hungry. Why don’t you eat before goin’ out and fixin’ the town?” She suggested.

Aiden looked over to her. “Sounds good.”

*****

“This is really good,” said Aiden as he chewed on a slice of apple pie. “Haven’t eaten something like this years,” a sigh escaped his breath after he swallowed. “Reminds me of my mom’s cooking.”

“Do you have any siblings?” The small filly Aiden identified as Applebloom asked with much innocence in her voice.

“I don’t think that’s somethin’ we should ask him about Applebloom,,” Applejack chimed in.

Aiden shook his head as he rose his right hand. “It’s fine. I don’t mind the question at all,” he replied. He gave his attention on the filly as he started to answer her question. “I do have a sibling. An older brother that I still hold in high regard to be exact. He was always there for me if I got hurt, something bad happened, or if I needed something.”

“What did you two normally do together?” Applebloom questioned him further.

Aiden thought deeply about his memories with his older brother. “There was quite a lot that we did,” he chuckled, “We’d go around the farm and play ‘hide n’ seek’ in the corn fields every now and then, and maybe even pull a prank or two on our neighbors. Thinking back on that, we did get into a lot of trouble.”

Applejack turned her attention to Aiden as she took interest. “You lived on a farm?”

He nodded. “It was the life I knew. The only one at that...” Aiden stared down at his empty plate and took a breath. He pushed himself back in his chair and got up. “I think it’s time I went and helped with fixing the town. I’m sorry to have taken up space in your home.”

“It’s no problem at all, Aiden,” Applejack replied.

Just before Aiden left he stopped and turned his head. “Thank you for your hospitality. I’ll find a way to repay you.”

“There’s no need to repay me. It was nice havin’ you over.”

Aiden finally walked out of the kitchen and out the front door. He slowly made his way back to Ponyville as his feelings for the mare who just took care of him welled up inside him. This wasn’t the first time this happened and he could feel the butterflies in his stomach going into a frenzy. He shook his head violently as he pushed the emotions to the back of his mind. He looked to Ponyville and saw that the place was still in ruin. He continued to make his way toward the town with every intention of fixing his mistakes.

Chapter 5

A chill ran through the room and the smell of moisture filled the air. A bulb hanging from the ceiling with a dim light barely lit up the room. Aiden, barely conscious, found himself bound to a chair with his legs strapped to its legs, and his hands were tied behind him. Blood dripped from the cuts on his face and bruises clearly covered his left eye and right cheek. He weakly lifted his head and shifted his eyes around the room as heard a couple of voices speak to each other.

“Heh, it’s fun beating the bloody daylights out of this spell-slinging scumbag ain’t it?”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

Aiden observed both his assailants through half-lidded eyes. Both were armed with bulky, steel-plated chains wrapped around their knuckles. They seemed to be wearing light armor that barely covered their bodies, but any empty space was filled in by brown cloth. He could feel the aura coming off the armor but it left a void completely untouched by magic. The man to the left seemed pretty bulky and looked like he could knock someone out cold in an instant. The one to his right didn’t appear to be as big, but was just as intimidating and dangerous as he tightened the chains around his knuckles.

“He’s still conscious. Tough sack of shit,” said the man to his left.

The man on his right nodded. “Let’s remedy that,” he walked over to a small shelf that stood behind him. The sound of metal being picked up and the brandishing of a knife could be heard. The man slowly walked over to Aiden and knelt down with knife close to his ear. He drew in closer and whispered into it. “I think it’s about time we ended this. You must be suffering from all the gifts we gave you,” his breath ran into Aiden’s ear that sent a chill down his spine.

Aiden let out a pained groan as he was belted once more by the cutting force of metal against his face. “Hey, he makes noises now! What’s wrong? Finally lost the will to live?” said the larger man.

“I think he has,” said the smaller man as he drew the blade away from his ear, and stood up. He walked in front of Aiden and slashed the tattered remains of his clothes off him, exposing his torso.

Aiden watched as the man squatted down, and held the blade to his left shoulder. His eyes widened as he felt the cold blade made contact with his skin. The next thing he felt was the sheer pain of the knife slowly slicing its way down across his body. He screamed as he balled his hands into fists and shook violently as he tried so desperately to loosen his bindings, but to no avail. He had to endure his mutilation right before his eyes. Once the blade had finished its bloody assault on his body, both men let out sadistic laughs.

Aiden sat there as he breathed heavily. He made quick gasps for air as the pain continued to shock his body. Blood flowed from the fresh wound on his torso and dripped onto the ground. As his vision started to fade in and out, he caught a golden ball of light in the corner of his eye. He passed out shortly after from the blood loss. All he heard was the sound of metal crashing and the two men yelling at each other.

*****

Aiden shot up into a sitting position and held his head. His breathing was fast and his heart was beating against his chest. He slowly brought a hand to his chest and took in several deep breaths. He then slid his hand up to his forehead and felt the cold sweat against his palm. He turned to his right and looked out his bedroom window to see what time of day it was. He could barely make it out because the canopy of the Everfree Forest blocked nearly all light sources from coming through.

He tossed off the blankets and walked over to the window and slid it open. He poked his head outside to get a better look. He looked up at the thick canopy of the forest and looked through the small breaks in between the leafs and branches of the trees. He almost couldn’t tell if it was night or if the thick bushels of leaves and tree branches just impaired his vision.

Aiden brought his head back inside and slid the window shut. “I need to go for a walk,” he said to himself. He walked over to his closet and took off his pajamas and put on some regular clothes. He slipped on a T-shirt, some jeans, and a pair of sandals; and walked down the hall out the door.

*****

Aiden wandered in the night’s embrace for almost an hour and found himself walking through Ponyville. It would have been a little less stressful on him if he didn’t have to look at the damage that was left to repair. From what he could gather, there was a lot left to go. At least several days worth of work was left over after the first couple days of fixing the town. He slowly brought his head down at the sight he beheld. Buildings were barely fit with new beams of wood and new thatches of straw sparsely covered the rooftops.

After his trek through the town, he finally set his sights for Whitetail Woods, where he would take refuge for the night. As he walked through the empty streets of the sleeping town, he felt his heart sink a little. He neared the outskirts of town, he drew closer to the woods. His heart sank a little more. He put a hand over his chest and gripped it tightly. His hand fell from his chest as he entered the woods.

Navigation wasn’t an issue as Aiden had visited this place many times before. He almost knew the place like the back of his hand, save for the fact that he got lost every now and then. His vision was impaired by thickets of trees and bushes.

When Aiden had finished wandering about—trying to find his way through, he came to a small clearing. The moonlight lit up the area which allowed him to see better. He looked around and saw a small stone in the middle with a small patch of roses planted in front of it. He took small steps toward the stone. Once he was close enough, he sat down. He crossed his legs as he stared intently at the stone. The light from the moon made a few words visible on it. He opened his mouth to speak to himself, but was interrupted by a rustling coming from the bushes.

He turned his head around to see what it was. He narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows at the rustling bush. “Who's there? Show yourself!”

A silhouette emerged from its cover and walked over to Aiden. Once it stopped in front of him, the moonlight revealed the figure to be none other than Princess Luna. Aiden’s eyes went wide as he scrambled to get to his knees and bow before her.

“P-Princess!” He exclaimed with his head facing the ground.

“There is no need for formalities, Aiden. Now, stand up,” she replied in a soft and gentle tone.

Aiden lifted his head as he got to his feet. “What brings you out here this time at night?” He asked nervously.

Luna deadpanned him. “I could ask you the same question.”

“Well, I…” He trailed off as his voice went into a low mumble.

Luna peered over Aiden’s shoulder at the stone. “Tell me, what is that stone behind you?”

He glanced over his shoulder at the object in question. “I-It’s nothing really.”

“Nothing? It seemed important enough for you walk out here in the middle of the night,” She replied. “This looks like more than just nothing.”

Aiden fiddled with his fingers for a moment. He inhaled and exhaled calmly then finally answered. “It’s a tombstone. A gravesite I made for someone who was once close to me.”

“Close indeed. Your dreams say so.”

Aiden was almost in shock, but quickly realized that he read about how Princess Luna could enter dreams of ponies; and people apparently. “I haven’t gotten any rest for the past couple of nights because of those dreams,” he said as he went back to sit in front of the tombstone. He put his right hand the face of the stone. He went silent for what seemed like an eternity as he stared at it.

Luna walked up next to Aiden and sat next to him. “They seem to be bothering you a lot,” she finally spoke up. “Would you please tell me the rest of what happened in your dreams?

Aiden took his hand off the stone, but continued to remain silent. He arched his knees up front of him, and proceeded to wrap his arms around them. He stared intently at the grave. An involuntary hic escaped from his throat as he buried his head into his legs. “Am I a bad person?” His asked as he held back a sob.

Luna looked over at him with much worry. “I do not believe that you are bad.”

“My servants went rogue after I was apprehended by you and your sister. Even if that were to happen, they shouldn’t have done what they did,” he took a breath. “They were hurting your subjects. I don’t think even you can forgive me for any of that,” his head sunk further into his legs. “I just don’t belong here.”

“I think that you’re being too hard on yourself. Perhaps explaining what happened to you would help.”

“You really want to know what happened?”

“If it would help put this to rest, then yes.”

Aiden tightened his arms around his legs. His eyes were glued to the grass beneath him. “In my world, as I have said already, there are people who hunt mages. Whether it be for sport, or they just feel like like it’s some kind of justice. I’m not really sure. I hadn’t done anything to them,” he paused for a brief moment. “that is, until I was captured by them.”

“How did these hunters manage to capture you? Given your power, surely normal humans could not stand against you..”

Aiden slowly shook his head. “They can resist magic through special techniques that they have learned. The less experienced hunters wear a special armor that surrounds them with a protective aura,” he explained. “As to how they captured me: I was caught off guard. I was looking for my familiar at the time.”

“Familiar? Please explain.”

“I’m sure you have an idea as to what a familiar is, but I’ll explain anyway I guess,” he took a deep breath as he gathered his thoughts for his answer. “Mages are able to perform special types of summoning that grants us a lifelong companion. After the summoning ritual has been performed, the master and familiar then enter in a contract. After doing so, the mark of the contract will appear on the mage’s body. Most commonly on the right shoulder or on the back of their left hand.”

“So, that golden light that appeared at the end of your dream. That was your familiar I take it?”

Aiden only nodded in reply. He shut his eyes tightly and buried his head in his legs again.

“Why were you both separate if you were supposed to be companions?”

Aiden rested his chin on his knees and answered. “I snapped.”

“What cause would you have to snap at it?”

“Her,” he replied.

Luna raised a brow.

“She was a fairy; and I yelled at her for something stupid. She ran off because of it,” he explained. “After I was captured during my search, the Hunters decided they wanted to torture me. They would have killed me if she didn’t show up in time.”

“How did your familiar know where you were? If she ran off like you said, then that would mean she couldn’t have known.”

Aiden shook his head. “Isabelle was a smart fairy. That and familiars, due to the contract, can feel out their master’s presence.”

Luna could see that Aiden started to get uncomfortable. Every time he continued his story, he just shrunk his head back into legs or looked down at the ground. She could tell something bad happened, and she needed to know so she could help him.

“I don’t mean to push you, but would you like to talk about it?” She asked.

Aiden took in a breath as he held back the moisture that pricked the corners of his eyes. Luna put a comforting wing over his back. He looked up at her as she nodded her head as a signal to continue his story.

“When she came to rescue me, the two men in the room were fighting with each other because she had just caused a commotion,” he began. “She then took the time to spring me while they fought each other. After we had escaped their stronghold, we fled as fast as we could through the forest,” he took a much deeper breath to prevent his voice from cracking. “What happened next felt like someone playing a cruel joke on me. I wish that it wasn’t real.”

“What did happen?” Luna asked softly.

Aiden swallowed a lump that formed in his throat and answered. “An arrow shot into her back. I saw her get in the way of it too.” After he finished, a tear trickled down his cheek. He brought an arm to his face to wipe it off. “Sorry, I’m normally not a cryer,” he wrapped his arm back around his legs.

“It is only natural to mourn for or cry over the loss of a loved one.”

“I’m a grown man! It’s emasculating for men to cry!” He shouted.

“It’s okay to cry. There is nothing wrong with that,” Luna replied in her gentle tone. “You can think or believe what you like, but having yourself a cry once in a while doesn’t hurt.”

Aiden put his head down. “She told me that I was the best master she could ask for. I doubt that she truly felt that way,” he said as he swiped at the dirt beneath him.

“If she gave her life like that for you, you had to have meant the world to her. Maybe you weren’t as bad as you think you were.”

“The fact she isn’t here anymore still hurts me more than anything. She was always by my side; we were the best of friends. Now she’s gone, and she’s never coming back,” A sob escaped Aiden’s throat. “I just wish that I could’ve done something.”

Luna watched him stare at the gravestone. A tear made its way down his left cheek. “Perhaps you would like to be alone? I can understand if you want to,” she said as she slowly stood up and opened up her wings. As she readied herself for take off, she felt something grab her foreleg. She looked down to see Aiden’s hand. He looked up at her with as a couple more tears trickled down his face.

“Will you stay a little longer? Please?” He asked.

The corners of Luna’s mouth slowly turned up. Aiden’s face remained neutral. She nodded slowly, and sat back down with him.

“Thank you, Luna.”

Luna remained silent as she remained with him until she had to lower the moon.

Aiden let out a yawn and closed his eyes. He laid himself down on the grass to finally get a good night’s rest.

Author's Notes:

A few points I want to make:

I almost didn't want to upload this chapter because I didn't feel like the quality was there, but I decided to suck it up and see what reactions I get. After all, it is best to get opinions from others to help you improve.

I will get started on the next chapter when I can. Most likely Saturday night after 9:00PM. I got work and school and everything, so my priorities need some adjusting.

I may be able to fit in an Q/A chapter if you guys have any questions that you would like answered. Fun, right?

That settles that little bit there.

What did I enjoy about writing this chapter?

The major scene with Luna and Aiden. I really had fun writing that scene, and that scene is the reason why I almost didn't upload it. I didn't feel confident enough that this chapter might do well because of that scene. Again, I just sucked up, and posted it. I did some major editing before uploading this so it remains consistent, and not just bounce everywhere.

I look forward to your feedback! :D

Chapter 6

Sixteen-year-old Aiden was in the backyard of his suburban home to practice his magic. It had been a year since he learned how to use it, and studied it ever since. He had grown used to just the basics after several months of practice, and he had begun to teach himself something a little more advanced. He versed himself in the realm of summoning and illusions for his main practices.

Aiden sat in the grass with his legs crossed, and rested his arms on them. In front of him was a jar filled with fairy dust, strands of tree fiber, and some flowers in the center of a circle of runes he drew into a small patch of dirt. This was a special kind of summon that bound a mage and a summoned creature to a contract. It is known as a familiar summon.

The terms of the contract are carried out as such: The famliarship of the summoned creature is NOT only to be a service to the master. The master shall treat the familiar as if it were a member of their family. The companionship between familiar and master is eternal until the life of either is terminated either by unnatural or natural causes. No harm shall befall the familiar by the hand of the master. Lastly, once a contract is already made, a summon cannot be performed again unless the contract has been ended either by the death of master or familiar; or by agreement of ending the contract from both parties. If the terms of this contract are violated, the master will be branded with a hex to ban further performance of this sacred ritual.

It was clear to Aiden what the terms were, as well as the consequences. He read books about familiar rituals before attempting one himself. It wasn’t not the easiest task, but it was something he was willing to try if it meant more knowledge. He was still a novice, but he had put a lot of effort into making something like this work. He was going to have to give all his focus to this spell; otherwise he could end up hurting himself from exhausting too much mana.

Aiden took several deep breaths. He could feel the magic flow through his body. His body vibrated as he channelled his mana into the runes. He furrowed his brows and took another breath. The mana flow felt a little more fluid the more focused he became. The spell drained him the more he kept channelling mana into the runes.

Soon, the items lit up. The spell was nearly done, and all Aiden had to do was focus just a bit more. His breathing started to get heavier as he put more focus into channelling his mana. He couldn’t back when he was so close. It was nearly finished.

The spell was finished after the items disappeared to open a small rift for the summoned creature to come through. Aiden slumped forward a bit from the exhaustion the spell caused him. He used both hands to keep him sitting upright, and watched the rift closely as something emerged from its white depths. The creature that came forth was a female fairy. She had translucent wings, blonde hair, light skin that had a tint of gold to its glow, and dressed in an elegant, light-blue cloth.

“A fairy?” He questioned. He took another look over it once more before smiling as big as he could. “A FAIRY!” He cheered.

The fairy looked at him with a raised brow. She didn’t know what was going on until she noticed a mark on the back of her left hand. When she saw it, she immediately realized that he was her new master. She looked up at the mage who summoned her. He was so young as well as inexperienced. How could he possibly have the capability of performing such a spell?

Aiden slowly leaned for further inspection. “I never thought I’d ever be able to pull somethin’ like this off. It seems so surreal.”

The fairy continued to stare at him in awe.

He continued to smile. “You got a name, fairy?”

She slowly nodded. “Isabelle.”

“So, Isabelle, what do you think of your new master?”

She deflated. “Too young and inexperienced,” she began, “You can’t possibly have been the one who summoned me as your familiar!”

Aiden flinched at her response. “But I did summon you. Just because I am young doesn’t mean that I can’t be your master.”

She shook her head. “Yes it does,” she replied. She then flew up to his face with her eyebrows furrowed, and eyes narrowed. “If you think for a moment that I’m going to recognize you as my master, you have another thing coming!”

Aiden was perplexed. “So, ya’ don’t like me to be your master?”

“I thought I had made it obvious that I didn’t. I’ll have to stick around anyway, but I won’t like it one bit.”

He grabbed his right arm with his left hand. “‘Kay. I won’t bug ya’ for anythin’. I’ll just let you do your thing, and I’ll do mine.”

“Glad we could come to an agreement,” she nodded curtly.

“Aiden, dinner is ready! C’mon in before it gets cold!” A man’s voice called out from inside the house.

Aiden looked over his left shoulder to see his older brother Cash at the backdoor. “I’ll be right in!” He slowly took his hand off his arm—using it to push himself off the ground. Once he was on his feet, he turned slowly toward the door. He stopped to look back at the fairy. He slowly walked inside in the house with his head down.

After a few minutes, Isabelle flew up behind him, and followed him inside. She turned around and pulled the door shut and locked it. Turned back around and made a right into the kitchen. She saw her ‘master’ and his family having a good time, and chatting away at the dinner table. Though, Aiden himself didn’t look like he was into it at all, but she didn’t really care about how he felt. He is only a kid, and that’s the reality of it. There is no way she would accept him as her master.

“Aiden,” a much older man spoke, “Son, what’s wrong?”

He remained silent as he lifted his fork into his mouth to take a bite of his food. He slowly chewed his meal and swallowed.

“Aiden, c’mon, you can tell your ol’ man,” he insisted.

He gently set his fork back down onto his plate. “I’ve worked so hard these past few months to learn how to perform a familiar summon, and my familiar wants nothin’ to do with me because I’m too young.”

His father sighed. “As much as I don’t want you to practice magic, I still think you’ll do good things in the future,” he spoke up. “I’m sure things will get better between you two.”

“As if!” Isabelle shouted. Everyone’s attention was now on her.

Aiden’s father stared intently at her for a moment.

“I’m his ‘familiar’,” she answered as she made air quotes.

Aiden shrunk down in his chair. “Please, can we just finish eatin’ so I can get to bed right after? I don’t want this to end-”

“Aiden, ya’ summoned a fairy?” Cash pushed his chair out and got out of his seat. He walked over to his little brother and wrapped his right arm around him, and roughly rubbed his head with his left hand. “That’s my little bro! You sure got talent!”

Aiden struggled to get his older brother to stop noogying him. He grabbed his arm and pushed him off. “I’m not in the mood, Cash!”

“Sheesh, I just wanted to congratulate my little brother on somethin’,” Cash replied as he nudged Aiden with his elbow.

He looked up at his older brother. “I-” he stuttered. “I’m sorry for snappin’. I’m really not in the mood.”

His older brother sighed and went back into his seat to continue eating. Aiden looked over to his dad, then to his mom. “Can I be excused please? I wanna go to bed. I’m not very hungry tonight.”

“Of course, dear. We understand,” his mother answered with a soft tone.

With that, Aiden pushed himself away from the table, and got out of his seat. He pushed the chair back in, and left the kitchen with Isabelle following from behind.

He headed through the living room, and into the hallway. He stopped at the first door to his right near the entrance of the hall. He put his right hand on it, twisted the knob, and pushed the door open. Once he was inside his room, he closed the door behind him, but not before Isabelle swooped in and flipped the light-switch next to the door to turn on the bedroom-light. His room was filled to the brim with posters of classic rock and metal bands except for the wall next to his bed. In front of it was mid-sized desk with a small lamp clamped onto the left side of it, and stacks of papers of magical formulas and schoolwork.

Aiden walked on over to his bed and plopped himself onto the mattress with his face buried into a pillow.

Isabelle flew over to the desk to observed the stacks of papers. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The notes on the desk dated back one year ago, and little did she know that’s how long ago he started learning magic. There were so many notes, more than she could count. There was no possible way a child could have done this. No non-adult mage could possibly have the mental capacity to work with this dedication; nor could they have the free time!

“I doubt you were the one who took all these notes,” she began. “Even if you were the one, where did you even get these?!”

Aiden lifted his head to reply, “The internet, and the library. You just need to know where to look,” he took a deep breath and shifted onto his back. “I also study whatever magic I perform myself, and take notes on it. It helps for future reference.”

“You expect me to believe you actually put this much time and effort into your own spells? Into gathering this much information?” She sounded flabbergasted from the way she kept doubting him. “You’re just a stupid, southern kid-mage! There’s no way you can be this intelligent!”

“Believe what you like, but know that I am the one who summoned you. You can deny it all you want, but you can’t change it.”

The fairy put the papers back on the desk, and flew over to the door. “And where are you going?”

“I’m going to go sleep on the couch. I’m not going to rest in a room with a child!” Her voice held more ferocity when she shouted.

Aiden pushed himself up in a sitting position and turned his head toward Isabelle. “Oh no. You’re goin’ to get me in trouble if you do that!” He argued.

“Oh, is that all you care about? Yourself? Hmph,” with that, she gripped the knob with both hands and twisted it. The door opened, and she pulled on it as hard as she could. The door was slowly closing, and once it did, she was no longer in the room.

Aiden sighed and stood up to take off his clothes. Once he was done, he put them in the hamper on the other side of the room. He slipped on his pajamas and flipped the light-switch to the off position. He felt around with his hands to assist his navigation through the room, save for the small amount of moonlight shining in through his window. When he finally felt his bed, he immediately laid down. He pulled the blankets over and curled up. He was lost in thought about the evening’s events.

“I’m more’n that,” he said to himself in a low voice. “If you’d just give me the chance,” he finished. His slowly closed his eyes in hopes that tomorrow would help him put the events of today behind him.

*****

The sun slowly rose over the horizon for the start of the day. Aided was still sleeping with his body curled up in his blankets. He slowly opened his eyes slightly and turned his body so he was facing the window across the room. He opened his eyes a little bit more to see the sunlight slowly make its way onto his carpet. He extended each of his limbs to stretch. He moaned as he felt a few satisfying pops in his joints. The feeling of restlessness was purged from his body as he hung his legs over the right edge of the bed.

Aiden slowly planted his feet firmly on the floor. He stretched out his arms with a yawn before standing up. Once he was on his feet, he dragged his feet as he walked over to his bedroom door. He grabbed the knob, turned it, and walked out. He made his way into the living-room only to see a sleeping fairy on the couch. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. He stood there for what felt like an eternity before sitting down on the cushion next to her.

There wasn’t much that could be said. No matter what, Aiden would be despised by his familiar. He just sat there as he watched her sleep.

Isabelle groggily cracked her eyes open. She sat up and lightly rubbed her eyes. She yawned—then scanned the room with her eyes to spot her ‘master’ sitting adjacent to her. She furrowed her brows.

“Good mornin’, Isabelle,” Aiden greeted.

“Can’t say the same for you,” she retorted.

He sighed. “Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to deserve it?”

“I don’t ‘hate’ you. I just ‘disrespect’ you,” she answered with her arms folded.

Aiden scratched his head in confusion. “Still, you act as if I wronged you somehow.”

“You’re just too young. You young-mages will never understand the responsibility of having a familiar,” with that as her final remark, she began flapping her wings and took off towards the backdoor. She twisted the knob with both hands to open the door then used the same method to close it behind her.

Aiden sighed. What could he do?

*****

The days went by. Aiden eventually learned to go back to living life before summoning Isabelle. He returned to his studies, locking himself in his room for days on end, trying to puzzle out the arcane. There was much more out there for him to discover.

Isabelle did her best to ignore him and his family as they milled about the house, but she found that she could never stray very far from the place. She often tried to find things to keep her busy, but there wasn’t much. Time tended to go by slowly for her, and just watching Aiden’s family either do chores, or watch TV in the living-room didn’t help the time pass any faster for her.

A few more moments went by. A faint voice could be heard from Aiden’s room. Isabelle flew into the hall until she was next to his bedroom door. She pressed her right ear against it. The sounds of papers being shuffled around, and Aiden’s voice can be heard from inside.

“This spell seems way too powerful,” she heard him say. “It’s only to suck the creatures back to where they came from. Why does it require so much magic?” She heard the page of a book being turned. “Oh,” Aiden realized. Isabelle flinched when she heard him slam his fists on the desk. “The inverted runes of summoning a demon,” the sound of a book being slammed shut was heard. She heard the chair slide, then the sound of footsteps heading toward the door. She backed away from the door. The knob twisted and the door opened slowly. She looked left, then looked right. She quickly flew back into the living-room and sat back down. She sat there, pretending not to notice as Aiden walked out, and headed into the backyard. She waited for the door to close.

Once the door was shut, Isabelle flew quickly into Aiden’s room. She flew over to his desk, an open book and scattered papers laid on its surface. She picked up the papers to investigate them more thoroughly. They were same ones from before, but there were more notes and symbols written on each of them. Upon closer inspection, she noticed each of the symbols written on them were runes to perform a proper summoning. She took a few minutes to sift through more of the papers. Her eyes widened, and her mouth gaped open. She couldn’t believe how dedicated he was to his work.

“Is this truly his own work? I’ve never seen such formulas for spells like this before,” she said to herself. There were even formulas to brew certain potions. Judging by the many marks and chicken-scratches on some of the papers, it seems as though he may have tested each of the
ingredients. “Amazing,” she continued. “Maybe. Just maybe, I was wrong about him?”

She reorganized and stacked the papers and placed them back on the desk. She then exited Aiden’s bedroom, and headed for the backdoor. Once she was outside, she saw Aiden standing in the middle of the grassy area of the yard. He held out his right hand, and pulled out a sheet of paper from his back pocket. He began reading an incantation from it. She started to feel small streams of mana flow through Aiden’s body. She flew into a nearby tree to get a better view of her master’s performance. She managed to spot the circle of runes that the mana was flowing into.

A light-blue aura was being channelled into the spell he cast. Surely, her master should know a spell like this a lot of magic to perform, and a lot of focus. Should something break his concentration it could cause a severe magical backlash that could potentially kill him. She didn’t see any reason to worry as she observed Aiden’s ability to maintain stability in his casting.

A few more minutes later, Aiden finally finished his ritual. There was a rumble and the ground broke apart. A massive hand made of earth and soil broke through the ground. The hand opened up and slammed onto the ground, causing a big enough shockwave to throw him off balance and cause him to land on his rump. He rubbed his eyes with his knuckles then stared forward for a moment until his vision cleared up. He saw a massive rocky form in front of him finish pushing itself out of the cleft in the earth it created.

The ground stopped shaking after the rest of the creature had finished climbing it’s way out. A massive, rocky, grassy, creature at least twenty feet tall stood over Aiden. He was speechless. After a few weeks of hard-pressed research, he couldn’t believe that it actually paid off. Isabelle couldn’t believe it either, however, something felt off about it all. The golem just stood there, looking ahead. It never once looked down at the one who summoned it in the first place.

“This doesn’t look right,” Isabelle said to herself. “It should acknowledge the one who summoned it by making eye-contact.” She watched as Aiden stood himself up. He brushed the dirt off his clothes then looked up at the creature.

“Golem!” He called out to it, but the creature didn’t bother to acknowledge him. There wasn’t so much as a low groan from the earthen giant. It continued to look ahead. “Hello, golem? I’m talking to you!” He exclaimed.

The creature slowly lowered its head to see the one who had summoned it. “That’s much better,” Aiden said contently. Just as he was about to address it once more, the golem slowly lifted one of its massive limbs and swung down at him. He watched as its massive left arm came down on him. His eyes widened, and he dove of the way before it could crush him.

“What the-” He was cut off by its other arm sweeping at his feet. He jumped to avoid the attack, but violently fell forward as he landed in a patch of dirt.

Isabelle wanted to help her ‘master’ in some way. She could see he clearly wasn’t going to last much longer against the golem. She watched as the creature bent its legs and sprung itself toward Aiden. She squeezed her eyes shut as the creature started to come down on him. She opened her eyes, and quickly sprang into the fray. She flew in as fast as she could to push her master out of the way.

Aiden landed with a thud. He craned his neck over to Isabelled. His eyes widened as he saw the massive golem’s arm came down on her. She quickly poofed out of the way, and reappeared next to her master. She quickly pulled on him by his left arm to help him up.

Once Aiden was finally up, he looked down at Isabelle. “Y-you saved me?”

“Shut up!” she quickly replied. “Move!”

They both quickly moved out of the way of another attack from the golem. Aiden glanced over at Isabelle. “I want you to get my family to safety, Isabelle.”

Did she hear him correctly, or was it just her imagination? “You want me to what now?”

He looked back at the approaching golem. He knew what he had to do to make this thing disappear, but it was near-fatal for him. “Get my parents, and my older brother out of the house; yourself included.”

Her eyes went wide. She tightly gripped the collar of his shirt. “You’ll get yourself killed!”

He freed himself from her grip, and stepped towards the golem that was now staring him down. He bared his teeth as he glared up at it. “Do it now,” he commanded.

The fairy shook her head. “You better come out of this in one piece!” With that, she flew off into the house to evacuate the house.

‘If I can perform some decent illusion spells, I can buy myself time,” Aiden thought. A massive limb came down on him. He moved out of the way at the last second. ‘I barely have time to act!’ He took a deep breath, and prepared to channel magic through his body. This was his first time performing a spell under pressure, so he couldn’t afford to screw it up. In fact, this was the first time he actually had to use his magic since he learned how.

The golem slammed both its arms down on Aiden. A copy of himself appeared on the arm of the golem and ran up the rocky and grassy limb. Just as it reached its face its left hand lit up a bit, and delivered a hard blow to its head with its fist. After the impact the stone appendage immediately turned to dust. The creature was now in a daze.

Aiden took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. He could feel his aura start to form a shape next to him. Two copies of himself appeared to his left and right. He nodded at each of them, and they sprang after the golem. ‘This should buy me some time.’ He then ran up to a nearby tree, and pulled out a small pocket-knife from his pants pocket. He immediately whittled away at the trunk of the tree — embedding a circle and various shapes into it.

The golem slammed its arm down on one of the illusions, and with an audible *POOF*, it turned to dust. Aiden quickly glanced over his shoulder. ‘Should’ve made them a little more solid.’ He turned back to finish whittling the runes into the trunk of the tree.

The second illusion kept the golem distracted for about a minute or two. After the illusion finished having its fun, it jumped onto the back of its leg, climbed up its back. Once it reached the back of its neck, it crawled over its shoulder, and on its face. The golem stopped its rampage for a brief moment. It slowly brought a hand behind the illusion. Once it got into position, it thrusted its open palm forward — destroying the illusion. The force from its own attack caused the golem to stumble back, and crash into the house.

Aiden heard the thunderous noise of splintering wood behind him. ‘I hope they’re okay,’ he thought as sweat fell from his forehead, whilst he put the finishing touches on the circle of runes. Once they were done, they were all neatly connected to one another. It was an awkward set of runes, but not an unfamiliar one. Once he finished double checking to make sure they were in place, he put an open hand in the center.

Once Aiden made contact with the runes, he felt the magic rapidly deplete from his body. He instantly started to feel fatigued, but he kept putting as much focus into the spell as he possibly could. He watched as the golem slowly got up. It shook off the blow from its own hand, and turned to him.

‘Come on! Just a little longer!’ Aiden started to feel shorter and shorter of breath as he kept going. The golem slowly approached him. He pressed harder against the runes. “It’s…almost…done.”

Once the golem got close enough, it stared Aiden down. It slowly lifted its right arm into the air. As soon as it was ready to strike down at him, he felt a pulse shoot through his body. This signified the spell was done. He glared back at the monster. “Go…back…to where…you…belong!” He let out a shout, and a giant vortex opened up. It started to suck the golem into it.

The golem, as fast as it could, slammed its right hand down, and managed a tightened grip on ground. It didn’t accomplish much as it only delayed the inevitable. As the golem drew closer to the entrance of the rift, pieces of its body started to crumble and fly up into the rift.

Aiden felt his heart beat faster as he continued to hold the vortex open. He was running short on magic, and breath. Soon the golem’s body began to crumble. It’s grip on the ground loosened, and fell straight into the rift. Once the colossal creature was finally gone, the vortex closed. He fell on back on his rear, and took a few a moments to catch his breath.

“It’s over,” he said to himself.

“Aiden!” Isabelle’s voice can be heard as she zipped toward him.

“Isabelle?” He was met with her landing roughly on his stomach, and her little arms trying hard to wrap around him for a hug.

“You’re alive,” she looked up at him.

Aiden said nothing. He put one hand on the back of her head to assure that he was okay. They both looked at each other and smiles slowly made their way onto their faces,

Isabelle flew up to her master’s head, and knocked on it as hard she could with a fist. “Don’t you do something stupid like that again.”

He rubbed the top of his head as it hurt a teeny bit. “Were you really worried about me?”

“Uhm. W-well...kinda.”

He chuckled a little. “Come on, let’s go tell everyone that it’s safe now.”

She nodded in agreement.

Aiden struggled to get to his feet as the spell rendered him exhausted. Isabelle supported him as she helped him through the rubble, and debris of the partially destroyed house.

Author's Notes:

Enjoyed writing this chapter as much as the last. I hope to get updates out faster during the summer. Sorry it took so long. Lots of editing, lots of thinking for future chapters. Got everything outlined in my head.

[UPDATE] Wandering Prey

[Much of this is a repost of my blog with some tweaks]

---- [UPDATE] ----

If there's anyone out there familiar to to who I am:

It is me, Jake, back on here after nearly 10yrs of inactivity. I just thought I'd announce that I will be redoing Wandering Prey in the near future that had at a point turned into a collab fic with Sandcroft.

I will rewrite certain portions and other chapters that pertain to a universe different than Ungrounded (Sandcroft and I have lost touch since. Won't go into detail.) I already permitted him to use Aiden for his fic to his ends so he could finish his story (his life has been really busy and so has mine). The only issue I am having is how to go about it as to not disrupt the flow and maintain the same events that have occurred thus far (open to suggestions).

I will also henceforth attempt to write some other fics that take place in the current setting. I have a set of characters that I have brainstormed, and will continue to further the development of such stories, but not publish them just yet (still need to actually write them out). For now, one thing at a time.

I have also deleted the other fic I posted, and will probably not write one similar to that either.

As for what I have been up to: work, finished trade school back in 2020, more work, and lots of depression and being indecisive. I recently finished the last few seasons of MLP (6-9) and have had mixed feelings and even re-watched some seasons and remembered that the show brought me a level of happiness I once lost. Life felt empty without the show and does now since it ended (G5 is not very good imo). G4 will always remain close to my heart. Kind of weird coming from a now 30yr old man (time sure flies).

Better news: I have resumed chapter 7 for this fic and while I don't have anyone to pre-read or edit, I will do my best for quality's sake. Thanks for those who stuck around all these years, and I hope to actually finish this and get onto other stories!

I already have a list of characters I have plan to introduce in future projects including this (potentially), and if you'd like to know some of, I wouldn't mind sharing that info with you!

That is all! Here are some socials if you wanna keep in touch:

I have a Twitter if you guys wish to seek to me out!

I also stream over on Twitch as well! <--- Join in from time to time! It's always nice to interact with someone!