Chapter 1: Dark Memories

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THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN OVERHAULED! I revisited this story and saw I really wanted to make changes. The story was originally between me and another writer but since he is no longer writing his part I'm going to turn this into my own piece. I hope its much better. Also some things may be different lore wise between my Arthas and the one from WoW, but they shouldn't be too large.

Let me tell you a story. A story about the dead.

When you die, everything stops. It did for me... for a time. My earliest memory I have began just like that, until I was violently ripped from that timeless void back into the living world. That day, I came face to face with one of the most wicked and ruthless beings in existence, and I was entirely at his command. Or at least I should’ve been.

For some reason I couldn’t fathom, I retained my free thinking after my rebirth. Whether it be some kind of divine intervention, or pure dumb luck, my own will remained intact.

Ebon hold...

It's been a long time since I had escaped that... horrid nightmare, a place full of death and decay. Body filled hallways smelling of putrid rot from the undead as they shuffled around... making themselves useful as not to attract the ire of their master.

A long time since... I lost my humanity.

Exactly two years ago, I had ended up in a place I learned to be named Ebon Hold, the place where they create and morph the dead into... abominations.

My memory is foggy on how exactly I ended up there... although I'm pretty sure I had died, though I suppose that was a given. How I died is lost to the farthest reaches of my memory, but what I do remember is waking up in a body that was not my own and feeling like a frozen, empty husk. I lay there, slowly opening my eyes before I saw him. That... monster. Wearing demonic armor and wielding his terrifying sword, those cold eyes peering though that cursed helm and into my very soul.

The Lich King.

He stood there silently, next to two ghostly banshees as they eyed me up and down. I was frozen in fear, unable to move or even formulate words as they examined me, before the monster finally spoke in his haunting voice.

"Stand, young knight, and ready yourself with your new body."

I struggled to keep my breathing under control as I placed my hand on my chest. However, instead of my palm resting upon my bare chest... I felt sharp nails digging into short fur. I began to panic even more as the intimidating figure stared into my very being, before turning and leaving the room with the banshees in tow. After they left I shakily got up on my feet and looked around. The room was a depressing grey as every wall was nothing but stone, the floor covered in what I could only assume were the bodies of... failed subjects.

Or at least the leftover parts…

One of the bodies, their face forever twisted into pure agony, lay there lifeless as a flash of light glinted off their reflective helmet. Slowly reaching out, I removed the helmet... my brain refusing to parse what my eyes were seeing.

In the reflection, staring back at me was a horrid creature you'd expect spawned from a nightmare, which was now very much a reality.

That thing was me.

I was a Worgen... a large lupine monstrosity. Whether they turned me into it or I already was one I can't quite remember. Those... bloodthirsty animals cursed unto man... and that's not even the worst part...

"No..." I spoke in an echoed voice as I sat my hand on my chest, feeling for a heartbeat.

"NOOO!" My voice bellowed out as I remained locked on the reflection, two glowing blue orbs looking back.

I'm a Death Knight.

During my time within Ebon Hold... I waited and bided my time while doing whatever was asked of me with no hesitation. I despise myself for the things I did, the heinous acts I committed... until one day the perfect opportunity presented itself and I made my escape.

However that's a story for another time...

As I walked through Stormwind and past the auction house I took a short glance over noticing the usual large crowd huddled around the auctioneers, blowing all their money or taking the life savings of some poor sap. As I did many of them sneered back at me. No matter how long ago it happened everyone looks at me with the same reaction. Disgust. No one had any respect for Death Knights OR Worgens, and when you're both... life doesn't come easy for you.

I may look normal now while I'm in my human form... but I'm still far from it. I've been learning to control my anger more and more, for fear I may be banished from the city grounds if I have another outburst. For some reason I cannot fathom, I can't stay in Worgen form for long. However, I can still control when I want to transform... though prolonged use causes me immense fatigue. There is the occasional time I'm forced to shift by... outside stimuli. Like rage or anger, I had a lot of that to go around. If I get too unstable and shift driven by emotion, well it's not pretty that's for sure.

I’d traveled all over Azeroth since freeing myself from Ebon Hold... but other free thinking Worgen are rare indeed. Even more so ones with the ability to shift from human to Worgen form at will.

One of the guards I passed by gave me a solid glare, causing me to avert my gaze. 'I already have two strikes on myself... not like it matters.'

Today was finally the day I take my savings and leave it all behind. I wasn’t normal so even trying to live a normal life is just an illusion, I finally saw that now.

I continued ignoring the stares as I approached the nearest bank. Stepping inside, and drawing the attention of most of the patrons already inside, I quickly made my way to my usual spot.

"I'd like to make a withdrawal." I stated in a low tone, my voice cloaked with a chilling echo that mimicked my every word.

The banker quickly picked up a quill and dabbed it in a inkwell before continuing to write on the paper in front of her. "Name." She stated flatly.

"Dalandor." I replied simply.

She nods. "Last name..."

I said nothing as I crossed my arms and cleared my throat. This got her attention, as she quickly tore her gaze from the paper to meet mine, before covering her mouth with a hand.

"Oh! I'm sorry Dal! I know you don't remember after your... incident... I didn't realize it was you. It's been a long day." She said with a small huff.

I nodded and looked away. "It's okay Syrus... you were busy..." I assured, looking back and giving a weak smile she probably didn't even notice though my helmet.

My armor itself was crudely made, after all money does not come easy to someone like me so I had to save every last gold, silver and copper coin I could. For now, I was fine with some simple plate-mail gear which didn't restrict my movement or feel cramped when I needed to shift.

She smiled back to me before sliding the document she was working on aside. "What would you like to withdraw?"

"Everything." I said with a nod.

She looked at me with a bit of worry. "...all of it?" She asked.

"Don't worry... I had gotten someone to enchant the bag. It's just a small pouch." I said with a slight hint of annoyance as the memory of paying for such an enchantment resurfaced.

Smiling, she nodded and turned to retrieve my stuff as I let out a quiet sigh. She was my only friend in this world, even after all I've done for this land all they do is stare at me in disgust. For gods sakes I was there when Stormwind was threatened by a scourge siege for five days straight! Apparently no matter how much people hate Death Knights no one can deny they are a formidable beast in combat. But, outside of combat and a need of me, they'd rather be rid of me for good. But she's different, because no matter what I do she was always there for me.

And now, I was leaving her... ironic.

"Here you go!" Said a cheery voice.

I snapped out of my state and looked back to her. I saw the bag she was handing to me and took it, before looking back to her with a sigh.

"Thanks Syrus..." I said genuinely, getting her to look a bit taken back.

"U-Um, no problem." She said with a smile, probably put off by my serious look.

I seemed to have that effect on people I stare at.

Breaking away my gaze, I turned my eyes down to the pouch and looked inside. Contained in the small, palm sized pouch is the twenty thousand gold I had saved up after months of mercenary work and travelling Azeroth. I'd seen many things but everywhere I went... everyone still hated Death Knights.

I shook my head and looked back at Syrus again, "I'll see you around..." I lied as I made my way out of the bank.

She waved back happily, any worry on her face seemingly gone. "Ditto!"

Chuckling a bit at her infinite optimism, I turned my head away and looked out upon the rest of the Dwarven District.

“If you ever need someone, you know where to find me.” She said softly from behind me, getting a sad smile to appear on my face for a moment before I sighed and stepped outside.

Doubts began to surface in my mind, until I shook my head clear of the offending ideas and began my way towards Old town, my destination being the Griffon master in the Trade District.

As I crossed the bridge leaving Old town I felt a strange shiver go down my spine, making me freeze in place. I could never quite explain what it was, but ever since I woke up in that cursed place I've always been able to notice things... strange things. Things that shouldn't have been noticed, whether it be an invisible assassin sneaking up on me or even something as simple as being observed. I couldn't explain it except... I could just feel it.

'Like icicles... on the back of my neck'

I paused my thought process and quickly spun around, looking back towards Old Town. Scanning the area and not seeing any suspicious movement I brushed it off as my battle nerves being restless.

'I should get some supplies before I leave' I thought to myself as I sighed for the thousandth time today.

Picking up my pace, I quickly made it to the trade district as the sound of busy streets and yells of salespeople quickly filled the area.

"Bread here! Get your fresh bread here!" Yelled a salesman walking down the winding road.

Letting out a small hum as I rapped my fingers against my coin bag, I watched the man walk up and down the road advertising his products. The strange feeling was still gnawing at the back of my mind and urging me to leave, but I definitely needed some kind of food first.

'Still, what kind of sick twisted joke is it that I still need to eat and drink... I don't think I've met a single other Death Knight that's even carried provisions with them' I thought to myself as I growled, before trudging over to the salesman.

"Excuse me sir, I'd like to buy some bread." I said to him as calm as I could, even with this demonic voice of mine.

He looked me up and down before letting out a snicker. "YOU need food? Pfft fine, how many." He asked showing me what was in his basket.

I took a quick look and picked out the loaves I wanted.

"Eight gold please." He said holding his hand out.

I knew he was ripping me off at least 6 gold but I wasn't in the mood to argue, I just wanted to be out of this place. Everyone hates Death Knights and I can't afford another outburst anyway. I gave him the money and stored the bread in the enchanted bag. It may hold more than it looks, but it still has a maximum which it was quickly reaching, already passing halfway with everything already in it. Tying up the pouch, I quickly made my way to the Griffon Master... before I end up sidetracked with some stupid errand that "You owe us to take care of!" or "It's your right after what you did to this world!" I shook my head as I made my way down the street, before that piercing chill ran up my back again.

This time I noticed the eyes of two guards on me as I walked, so I listened in as closely as I could without making it obvious.

My senses seemed to be sharpened since my rebirth... of course they were dialed to eleven when I was in my Worgen form, but my Human senses were pretty outstanding too. Focusing on their voices, I tried to phase out the chatter of the city.

"There he is, and the sun is starting to set, now is a good time to collect." The first guard whispered to the other as my eyes widened.

The second guard shook his head a bit. "Not yet, if we go in and he get's away there's no way we catch him. Lot of people want the money, we just have to be patient." He finished as they both slowly got off the wall they leaned on and trailed far behind me.

I tried making turns as I went to get them off my tail but they continued to follow after me. I could feel my anxiety rising the longer they followed me, slowly closing the gap between us with every corner. I took a turn down an alleyway making it look like I was taking a short-cut, and the moment I left their vision I propelled myself forward. My feet carried me as fast as they could in my human form, until a moment later I heard shouting erupt behind me.

"SHIT, GO GET HIM WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!" A voice shouted as they rounded the corner in a hurry.

Quickly spotting me they began their chase. As I ran I could feel my cold heart beating faster and faster as I could feel the beast inside me trying to claw it's way out. I picked up the pace as I looked behind me and saw many more guards had joined the chase. Someone had obviously put a large bounty on my head if the guards were in on it as well. Speeding down the streets I quickly took random turns until I came across an old abandoned house, which I'd been using as a hideout when things get rough.

"I see him! This way!" Another shout rang behind me.

Without hesitation I charged the door, bashing it open with my shoulder. Once I cleared the doorway, I spun around and slammed it shut before embedding one of my axes into the frame... pinning it shut.

"Goodbye brother..." I spoke solemnly, before retreating to the middle of the room.

As quickly as I could, I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing... my racing heart slowly coming to a crawl.

"Tame the beast, resist the bloodlust..." I slowly repeated my small mantra to myself I'd say whenever my form threatened to free itself of it's own accord.

Not opening my eyes, I put my hands together as I brought the transformation on myself, feeling my body shifting as it did numerous times before into that beast called a Worgen. A feeling not unlike a cold fog descending upon my body made me shiver. I could feel my legs becoming longer and more deformed, my back arching a bit as my skin was replaced with short black hair. My mouth slowly extended into a longer muzzle adorned with razor sharp teeth, the whole transformation just as painful as it looked.

"He's in here! I saw him run in!" A voice bellowed as they banged on the door. "He's got the damn thing jammed!"

"Then break it down!" Shouted another before a series of strikes began to collide with the old door, starting to splinter it apart.

I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, dreading what I was about to do. I could fight, but there was no way I would be able to handle them all at once... without casualties anyway. And even if I made it out of this then what? They're gonna believe a Death Knight over the whole guard?

Dread set in as I knew what I had to do.

I shook my head as I tried to recall the old magic I had only used a handful of times. One wrong thought and the thing could send me into the twisting nether or tear me atom by atom, portals were no joke.

And so, I recalled my memory on how to make a Death Gate.

Death gates were used to return to Ebon Hold, a place I swore to never return. Yet here I was, going back. However I wasn't a fool... I had heard of it's fall and knew that monster wasn't there. As it stands it's my last option anyway.

'What if it doesn't take me to Ebon Hold?' I wondered to myself, a feeling of dread creeping up on me. 'What if it only links to Necropoli he controls?'

In truth, I hadn't cast this spell since I escaped over two years ago, and never had a reason to after I heard of it's fall anyway. The sound of a particularly hard strike on the door pulled me from my thoughts, before I began the ritual.

I knelt down and used my claw to mark a line in the ground about three feet long. I then brought the claw up to my other paw and made a shallow cut before holding it over the line. I let a drop of blood drip on both sides of the line then the center. The moment it made contact purple energy shot from each of the impacted areas upwards. The center went up about 7 feet, towering over me slightly. The left and right went up with it and arced towards the top point to make an upside down U shape.

Once all three made contact a sheet of purple energy appeared within the boundary lines. Looking at the portal, I prepared to finalize the spell. I muttered the incantation to the best of my memory, praying to whatever god was willing to listen I remembered it correctly. I could hear the door splinting apart as I spoke reminding me that I had very little time left.

*SHINK*

A noise and sharp pain stopped my words as I felt something pierce my chest. Feeling the air leave me as I let out a pained gasp, I stopped muttering the spell. For a moment, the purple wall of energy fluctuated wildly and rippled.

I looked back to my doomed attacker as he smugly smiled, thinking he was victorious.

"Ha! You weren't so tough! But I won't argue with a free million gold! You didn't even think of the balcony as an entrance!" He said triumphantly as he gave me a hideous smile, looking down at my collapsed form.

I slowly began to laugh, much to his annoyance.

"What? What's so funny beast?" He spit as he put his blade up to my neck.

"Yes you've done it, you've killed me. And you've killed yourself." My gravely voice echoed, as I turned my gaze to the nearby portal.

Breaking his eyes away from me, he turned his attention to it as well, quickly noticing it's increasingly violent behavior. "What did you do? Why is it acting like that? SPEAK!"

"I've done nothing, death takes who it pleases." I said in a low chilling tone.

The portal then suddenly pulled inwards before exploding out, enveloping the whole room in a painful light...

Perspective: Spike {Equestria}

I began to stir to the feeling of light in my eyes as I slowly cracked them open... only to groan at the villainous glow radiating from downstairs. Crawling out of bed, I cautiously made my way down the stairs to the main part of the Library where I saw Twilight, once again, asleep atop a pile of books.

I shook my head at her as I let out a small sigh. This is the fifth time this week I'd found her asleep at the table... and it was only Wednesday! Turning in place, I ran back upstairs and grabbed a blanket for the poor mare. When I returned, I delicately placed a blanket over her before replacing the book she was currently using with a pillow.

"Goodnight Twilight." I said with a smile and a light pat on her head.

As I made my way back to my room, I began thinking to myself. 'She hasn't gone outside in days... maybe I can talk her into going to see Zecora or something...' I thought as I smiled. 'Yeah! She's always complaining about headaches from reading so we can go get some potions! But right now.... sleeeeeeep...' I finished my thought as I fell atop my bed, quickly tumbling back into the recesses of my dreams.

WHEW! Alright there is the reworked chapter! I want to get into writing this story because I've thought up a nice plot for it I think you will all enjoy! Anyway let me know what you think!

Chapter 2: Hunting

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Chapter 2: Hunting

Darkness laced silence surrounded me as I lay motionless, unable to move. A part of me welcomed the thought of dying, however for my first experience at least... I found that I cannot truly die.

It began with my escape, when I was being hunted by some other Knights and these disgusting creatures called Geists. Un-dead humanoids that run on all fours like a wild animal, bodies looking stitched together with one large yellow eye. It didn't take long for them to track me down and make quick work of me. But it seems... something didn't want me dead. Not long after I'd fallen... I awoke in a spirit world which mirrored the physical one perfectly. I couldn't interact with anyone or anything, except my own corpse. So I came back... albeit in a tolling and painful process. At first I thought it a gift or sign that some strange force was looking out for me... protecting me.

But after a while I saw what it really was.

A curse. A curse for an outcast, for someone who will never belong anywhere. I could die over and over again but always come back, always outlive anyone and anything. The pain of being immortal... truly one of the worst fates imaginable. Of course, this was only if I could do it again. For all I knew, if I died again I was as good as worm food... and I wasn't about to test out the theory if I could help it. The only thing that kept me sane was the drive to find out the answer to one question in particular.

Why am I still alive?

As that thought rang out once more, my senses began flooding back with haste starting with touch. So I wasn't dead... I could feel some sharp prickly things digging into my back, and a warm sensation enveloping my arm. I tried to focus more on it when the memory of what had just transpired suddenly raced to the front of my mind.

'THE PORTAL!'

My eyes shot open and I sat up quickly, my vision swirling as I held my head with my hand.

'Where am I...'

The dark and decrepit look of bare tree limbs greeted me as I focused my vision. I could hear nothing as I looked around the nearly pitch-black forest, until a hint of red caught my attention. The 'warm sensation' on my arm was actually drying blood covering most of it and the shoulder piece. Laying beside me was the mutilated and bloodied corpse of what I presumed was the guard who attacked me.

Shaking my head I whispered in a low voice. "He passed through the divide only undead may cross..." I finished as I remembered the Death Portal enveloping us both.

Shakily rising to my feet, I tried smearing the dried blood off my shoulder plate before giving up and looking around some more. I quickly took off my helmet letting my short black hair out and stuffed it in my bag which was, luckily, still intact and unharmed. I wasn't sure where I ended up but this pouch had everything I owned in it.

Reaching into the pouch again, I started pulling out the bread I'd bought and greedily devoured it. I wasn't sure how long I was out but my stomach felt like it was trying to eat itself.

Usually you can spot a Death Knight a mile away because of the blue glowing eyes. But I had those taken care of a long time ago by drinking a special potion I mixed up, using the potion some Blood elves concocted to remove their own eye glow as a base. It took a a few months to master but I had finally done it, I had my normal brown eyes back... alas only in human form. However that's not the only way to spot a Death Knight. We carried an unsettling feeling around us and often made the air grow colder, especially when angry.

'Not to mention the pale skin was a dead giveaway...' I thought to myself, chuckling at my grim joke.

At least a sense of humor had survived my rebirth.

Shaking my head clear of the random thought I quickly did my routine and changed back into my beast form. In an instant, the dark night brightened as the rest of my senses kicked into high gear. Securing my pouch to my waist, I sheathed my last remaining axe before getting on all fours and taking off.

After a while of running in a random direction, seemingly stuck in an infinite loop of trees, I could feel my body straining to keep going. I feared having to stay in these woods any longer than I had to but couldn't figure out why. They had an uneasy feel to them that made you feel like you were being watched. I shook my head and pushed onward before I suddenly broke out of the tree-line, skidding to a stop in the middle of a empty field. I gave a surprised yelp and quickly jumped back into the trees.

Startled at the sudden end of forest but relieved to have found it I reached into my bag, before pulling out some parchment and scribbling down a makeshift map. Nodding contently I put the map away as I felt my stomach growl again as I reached into my pouch for some bread, before noticing I'd eaten it all during the run. Cursing under my breath I peeked out of the tree-line and gave a quick look around, immediately noticing a small village. Looked more Alliance than it did Horde but I didn't want to take any chances right now. To the right of where I was, about a quarter a mile away I saw what looked like a path.

Quickly and quietly I expertly navigated the forest in that direction before I broke out of the trees and into the trail I'd seen. Marking it down on the map, I examined it a bit further until my stomach groaned in displeasure again.

Clenching one of my fists, I sighed and put the map away. 'Quick hunt wouldn't hurt' I decided, standing high on my hind legs and sniffing the air... looking for any scents I could find.

After a few failed tries due to being out of practice I finally caught one as I quickly began to follow it back into the woods.

When you travel through Azeroth you see many amazing, and very bizarre looking creatures. If I had to say which category this creature landed under, I'd say it was the latter. Some kind of wolf with tree bark for skin... just a bit beyond the foliage ahead of me. Before I could examine it any farther I felt a sudden presence behind me. I barely had enough time to spin around before I locked eyes with another wolf, just feet away from me. On reflex, I tensed... waiting for it's pounce. However... it never came, and the wolf actually relaxed before giving a small nod.

I didn't know how to feel... this strange creature just nodded to me? After not reacting, it let out a little huff, before motioning with it's nose to the wolf ahead of me.

Hesitantly, I turned my vision ahead to see the other wolf was now looking at me too. Curiosity winning out, I slowly crawled out of my hiding spot and stopped in front of him, still on all fours.

'What the hell is going on? Shouldn't they have attacked already? Their behavior is much different than normal Azeroth animals' I thought as the wolf seemed to examine me.

Suddenly, it let out a huff and made a quick nod motion upwards before watching me expectantly. Confused I turned my head a bit out of instinct before it did it again. Sparing a look around I quickly noticed everything had fallen silent. Not a single animal in the forest was making a noise... I was surrounded.

My attention snapped to the wolf again as It repeated the gesture a third time, before I got a crazy Idea.

"Do you wish for me to stand?" I asked as it, to my surprise, nodded.

Bewildered, I slowly stood to my full height as it looked me up and down.

'Wolves always acted strangely around me and sometimes passively, probably because of my Worgen side. But this... and their intelligence...' I thought as the wolf continued to look at me. 'It's so surreal...'

Waiting for the wolf to finish examining me, my stomach let out a sudden growl as I covered it with one of my claws. The wolf watched as I swear I saw it smile a bit, motioning it's head in a way I understood immediately.

Follow.

My curiosity now piqued, I followed it quietly through the forest... both of us hunched down as low to the ground as possible. After a few minutes of stalking the wolf stops behind a fallen tree trunk and waits for me. Slowly, and hesitantly, I come up beside it and peek over the log.

What I saw made me freeze in surprise. Laying down, looking as if it was asleep, was what appeared to be a giant creature made up of different animals. It had wings of a bat but a tail of a scorpion, but most prominent of all is the body and head of a lion.

'Similar to the Horde's Wyverns, but much more bulky... and with that tail, not an easy foe...' I pondered before turning my gaze back to the wolf, to find it's disappeared.

Looking forward I could see many more wolves surrounding the beast but laying back in the tree line. However, every single one of their eyes were gleaming as they were locked with me. It was clear what this was now...

'A test...' I thought as I let out a small growl.

Slowly crawling out of the foliage I made my way towards the beast, quietly sliding my weapon from it's leather holster on my waist. However... as I did I heard a low, barely audible growl from behind me.

'No weapon, great...' My grip tightened around my last remaining axe for a moment, before letting it slide from my hand and onto the ground.

*SNAP*

A twig snapped under my foot as my breath hitched. The large beast began to get up as I quickly looked around for a place to hide. My eyes locked with the large tree next to it as I crouched low, and leapt through the air gripping onto it's trunk... before freezing in place. The beast got up and sleepily looked around for what had caused the noise as I slowly crawled down the trunk like a spider, my claws silently digging into the wood and holding me in place.

I made a very small, almost unnoticed growling noise, causing the beast to groggily look up. As it did I propelled myself off the tree and slashed at it's face with my claws as I went. The creature roared in agony and rage as it tried to shake off the pain. I quickly turned around after landing and started to sprint to the beast again, adrenaline and instincts beginning to cloud my senses. The beast locked it's gaze with me, one of it's eyes swollen shut with two large gashes... wetting it's face in blood.

It roared again and attempted to spear me with it's tail as I jumped to the left, dodging the strike before leaping towards it for another attack. As I jumped through the air, I failed to notice it's paw coming in for a back swing... knocking the wind out of me and smashing me into a nearby tree. I shook myself off and got back up, howling into the air as I lost all control of myself to my anger.

The fight was a blur as I was in this state. Dodge this, take this hit. Bite thing until my teeth touch. Imagine waking up and only remembering small fractured parts of your dream. But one thing I do remember is how it ended, and it ends the same it had every single time I took a life. Looking into the beasts eyes as I tore out it's throat with my claws, watching it's soul drain away. I couldn't look away, I never could. It always kind of felt like a Death Knights curse, forced to watch the life you've taken expire.

The beast finally went limp as I regained control of my body and slumped onto the ground, panting as I also tried to get control of my own breath and calm myself. I heard the noise of snapping branches and rustling foliage, as I quickly got up and opened my arms, readying myself for another fight. Then I spotted the other wolves, observing me with a look of... what I could only interpret as respect. At least I hoped anyway.

The larger wolf I had followed stepped forward and scanned me intently. I got back down on all fours and stepped aside as the larger wolf walked to the corpse. Sparing a glance back at all the other wolves, I shivered as they all watched me with irritating looks. I hated being stared at, whether it be animals or humanoids. It made me uneasy and restless. A few moments later the larger wolf came back and dropped a huge piece of bleeding meat in front of me, nudging it forward. Reaching out, I dug my claws into it and quickly pulled away.

Before I could leave the wolf made a small noise, causing me to look back. It then sat down and raised it's head up as it began a strange howl unlike what I have heard before. The other wolves did this as well as it continuously shifted in tune. They continued to do this over and over before I realized what they were doing. I turned, took in a huge breath, and howled. I matched the tune they used perfectly, causing them to finish and watch me for a moment before they all ran to the corpse and began to eat.

'Must be some kind of hunt celebration...' I thought to myself as I watched the larger wolf go to eat as well. 'Why do I always find the strangest things when I'm out adventuring...' I think to myself as I turn and run off.

As I lay down at my makeshift camp back in human form near the path and the tree-line, tired and weak, I tend the small fire I had made. I looked back at the recently cleaned bones as I thought back to the strange encounter. How the animals seemed so intelligent.

"Must be the magic of this forest." I said in a low tone as I lay down and closed my eyes. "So strange..."

Chapter 3: Equines

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Chapter 3: Equines

*Snap*

My eyes flew open in an instant at the noise, and my whole body jumped into action. I quickly scanned the forest for any signs of movement, which proved difficult even during the day with the little amount of light which bled through the trees. Wasting no time, I shift back to my beast form and began smelling the area.

When a very peculiar smell reached my nose.

"Is that... perfume?" I said aloud as I faced the direction the strong smell was coming from. "Strange..."

I creeped along the forest, constantly smelling the air to make sure I didn't lose the trail, before I came to a small opening in the treeline. I immediately noticed a small and winding path made of gravel leading deeper into the forest, where the trees quickly obscured my vision. Taking another sniff into the air, I confirmed the smell was indeed going down the path. Without any other objectives in mind, I decided to follow the trail.

From within the treeline next to it of course.

I strained my hearing to try and pick up any sound from down the trail, and for the longest time nothing happened as I walked on all fours slowly through the trees. Then suddenly I heard the loud sound of metal clanging.

My ears perked up for a second before I began sprinting towards the sound when I started to make out the outline of a small hut.

"So people do live in this forest..." I absentmindedly spoke as I slowly creep up to the house.

"Erfi zu to herma ole Zecora!" Spoke a feminine voice I couldn't quite understand, but sounded apologetic.

Another feminine voice answered, speaking more gibberish, but a couple of words I understood. "Yera gul lo Twilight, Rah zu lara Spike."

As I came up to the wall of the hut, I slowly stood on two feet and peered into the window, immediately tilting my head in curiosity and surprise. Ahead of me stood a horse looking creature of bright colors and strange design. Along with a hornless zhevra and a small creature looking much like a dragon whelp, minus the wings. All three were surrounding a large looking cauldron which had presumably been knocked over, spilling it's green contents.

The whelp and the zhevra got to work on cleaning up the spilled liquid, while the other looked down at it's hooves and kicked at the ground, looking embarrassed.

I took this time to really take in it's features, which were bizarre to say the least, but not the strangest things I've seen in my travels. The creature resembled a horse physically, but was also much smaller and had a couple extra... parts. The most notable being the ones sticking out of it's head and the side of it's barrel. The wing's use was obvious... however I've seen many horse like creatures with horns on their head before... but most of the time they were very sharp and best used to impale their prey. This creature's horn was short and dull, what was it's point?

The creature was also purple. Very purple, almost sickeningly so with a straight purple mane with one pink strip going all the way down from the top of the mane to the end of the tail. On it's hindquarters sat an image of what appeared to be a large star, surrounded by 5 smaller white stars.

"Z-Zec-cora..." I heard it's voice speak, breaking my concentration.

It was now that I noticed she had, at some point, turned to look straight at me with a face full of both fear, and curiosity. I blinked in surprise before I quickly leapt off the wall and ran away from the hut, jumping into the treeline and getting low to the ground to hide myself. The door burst open, and the purple equine and zhevra ran out, before stopping and scanning the area.

'This species of equines are very interesting... nothing like I've seen. So intelligent...' I thought to myself as the whelp attempted to leave the hut, only to be ushered back in by the purple equine.

The purple one turned to the trees, scanning them before shouting.

"Erma eila! li toh crah ma!" It shouted out as I stayed in place, before her eyes locked with mine, causing her to freeze.

Perspective: Twilight {A couple minutes ago}

I kicked at the floor as I blushed, looking at my hooves.

'How could I have been so clumsy?' I thought as I took a look up at the cauldron I had accidentally knocked over.

I huffed and fluttered my wings as I looked for a way I could help, when suddenly I felt a cold shiver go down my spine. It felt like the temperature had suddenly dropped, and I was being watched. I looked around trying to figure out where it came from, and saw that Spike and Zecora haven't seemed to notice. Curious still, I turned and immediately froze.

Sitting in the window were two very cold, and very dead looking blue eyes which glowed unnaturally bright. In that moment, I felt dread I'd never felt before. The eyes scanned me up and down, like a predator sizing up it's prey. Almost involuntarily I let out a small squeak, unable to formulate any words as the cold eyes bored into my skull. After what felt like ages, I slowly drew in a breath, and whispered to my left at Zecora.

"Z-Zec-cora..." I said low, but immediately regretted it as I saw the blue eyes flick up and meet mine.

As soon as they had looked at me, they disappeared along with the sound of heavy hoof steps outside.

Zecora, having heard the sound as well, followed me as I hurried to the front door. I burst through, looking around for any signs of the creature. Spike tried to follow us out, but I quickly pushed him back inside and closed the door. After taking another glance around, I slowly walked out from the doorway and squinted my eyes trying to notice anything at all.

"Come out!" I yelled out to the forest. "I wont hurt you!"

A few moments of silence followed before I saw them again. Those two blue eyes, looking right at me. Right into me.

Feeling the same dread as before blanket me, all my senses screamed at me to run away as fast as I could and take Spike with me. Gulping loudly, I shakily bumped Zecora, who turned and looked towards the direction I was staring before she froze up as well.

The creature let out a low growl, before it took a step out of the treeline and into the light.

I almost fainted just looking at it. The creature wore armor which looked to be made out of some kind of platemail, coving it's whole body except it's head. It was very wolflike, and when stood on two legs, very tall. It stopped after a few feet and watched us, waiting for something to happen.

"C-Can you... understand us?" I asked as it's head tilted a bit.

"I don't like this Twilight..." Zecora said without rhyme, and a bit of shakiness. "This creature... it reeks of death..."

Perspective: Dalandor

I watched as the Zhevra finished speaking to the Equine, which I had deduced to be female, and with the recurring word, also named Twilight.

"Twilight?" I questioned, getting her to flick her head to me in surprise, which confirmed my suspicion.

She spoke gibberish to me again. Sounded like a question, but I couldn't tell as the words were garbled from her shaken form.

I shook my head, getting her to calm down a bit but still continue to vibrate with fear. Casting my gaze over to the Zhevra, she visibly recoiled even more than the purple one. I don't blame them. They've probably never seen anything like me and with this armor on... no doubt making them even more scared. With a bit of consideration, I decided I should probably just leave. They didn't seem hostile anyway, and this form was starting to get taxing to maintain with how much I've been using it.

Plus, for all I know I could be deep in horde territory right now.

I gave them one last look over, both of them shrinking as my gaze moved over them. Their large, expressive faces conveyed exactly how they felt, mortal fear. I stood up on two legs, towering over both of them. Causing them to look a bit anxious and worried, I sighed and spun on my feet before leaping off into the trees. After I was sure I was out of sight, I took one last look behind me making sure I wasn't being followed.

Smiling a bit, I made my way back to my 'camp'. I was going to have to do a lot more scouting to figure out where in Azeroth I ended up.

Chapter 4: Scouting

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I should probably make this clear before we begin. It's been quite a many years but I finally did it, the last 3 chapters have been revamped and I HIGHLY recommend giving it a reread if you haven't read it since my last update. Now however, it's time to really get into the meat of the story. As you may have noticed, the story has been upped to Mature from Teen, a choice I decided to make when I thought more about how dark this story will be getting. I know that may put some of you off but, he's a death knight for Celestia's sake! Happy reading!

Chapter 4: Scouting

My eyes cracked open at the sound of birdsong, and a gentle warmth covering my face. I rubbed my eyes a bit trying to focus as the events of the last couple of days came flooding forth. Letting out a groan I gave a long stretch, eliciting a few satisfying cracks from my back.

Sighing in relief I slowly stood up from the ground and dusted myself off as I thought back to my run in with the lavender horse and hornless zhevra.

'Definitely the strangest encounter I've had in... a long time' I thought to myself as I tried to think of anything that could come close.

Failing to recall anything of significance, I shrugged and looked around me. My makeshift camp was pretty simple, just a small pit for fire and a bit of a hole to hide in for sleep. As much as I hated hiding in the dirt, it was still preferable to sleeping on a tree.

Shaking my head, I filled in the hole and campfire pit before referring back to my crudely drawn map. I had marked the strange hut I'd run into on it, and was growing increasingly worried at what I was seeing around me. I'd ignored it for the first while but as time dragged on it became harder to look past.

Everything was just wrong.

I wasn't sure how to explain it but everything just felt too... perfect. Every tree looked like it was painted in place, all the colors just a bit too vibrant to be natural. I hated it here, and every moment longer I spent here made me more uneasy.

Pushing my way to the edge of the treeline I saw the village once again in the early morning light. Still no signs of movement I decided it was probably due to the early hours and figured I'd use this time to scout out some more to the west, opposite to where I found that forest path and strange hut.

For a moment I considered shifting, but decided against it as it's started to take it's toll on me from repeated use. I could feel my breathing just a bit heavier than yesterday, my movements more sluggish. I cursed inwardly to myself, I'd overdone it again.

I still hadn't pinned down exactly what my limit's were on shifting between forms but I'd roughly worked out that if I take at least one day off between shifts I didn't suffer any of my normal side effects. Not that I minded being in human form, even if I was just an empty husk it still felt marginally better than the alternative.

Continuing my walk along the treeline and soaking in whatever details about the town I could from my position, I froze in place as movement caught my attention. Instinctively, I dropped as low as I could and gazed towards the town, where I found myself tracking a very peculiar sight. Just like yesterday it was another one of those equines, except this one was a bit closer to what I had in mind.

Except for how damn red it was.

The whole thing, top to bottom, was red as an apple. With the exception of it's short mane and tail which was a soft orange as it pulled along what looked to be an empty cart. The size of the Equine was the first thing I noticed as it was noticeably larger than the others I've seen. Curiosity getting the better of me, I quickened my pace along the trees to try and see where it was going.

As I reached what looked like the end of the treeline my jaw dropped at what I beheld.

As far as I could see were tall apple-trees absolutely packed with fruit, shining brightly off the morning sun as I felt my stomach growl in urgency. Taking another look to where I saw the red equine, I caught it's tail disappear into the rows of trees... following a dirt path leading deeper into the fields. Half the orchard was still bathed in shadow from the tall trees of the forest I was in due to the still rising sun to the east.

Almost acting on impulse I held myself back from leaping into the trees, before taking a step back and looking down at myself... letting out a small grumble as I began to strip my armor. If these things really were intelligent, and judging by how one tried to talk to me yesterday I'd say they were, I had better leave my armor behind. After all, if the worse comes to pass I could always just shift into worgen form... although I'd really prefer not to do that more than I have to.

Slowly shedding each piece of armor but keeping the axe hung around a leather cord by my right hip, I set them down in some dense foliage making sure to commit the area to memory. Satisfied I could pick out the area later, I turned my attention back to the rows of trees and their glorious fruit just waiting to be harvested. Leaning out from the treeline a bit, I scanned the area making sure no one was watching. A quick glance at myself saw the bloodied and torn white undershirt I wore.

Suddenly remembering the wound I'd taken from the guard, I felt around my chest for any signs of damage. My brow furrowed in frustration as I pulled my shirt off and inspected my body. Looking it over, I realized it was... pretty normal, well as normal as I could look anyway. I still had all my old scarring as before, all the cuts and markings I've accrued over time traveling Azeroth.

The only thing that still frustrated me was the fact that there was no hole exactly where the guards sword had stabbed me, only the remnants of it's memory printed along my skin. My fingers brushed over the scar, wondering how it had healed when I arrived in the forest. But, considering everything so far I had to banish the thought from my mind. It was definitely not the weirdest thing that's happened so far.

Shaking myself from my thoughts I pulled the shirt back on and focused on the task at hand as I peered back towards the Apple trees. Steeling myself, I leapt from the woods and quickly hurtled towards the orchard, before slamming into the closest tree and pinning myself to it. It kind of felt a little bit overdramatic but during my travels, I've learned better than to expect friendliness from any strangers. And to be especially cautious around those who did act nice towards me, it was an immediate red flag which had helped me many times weed out would be assassins.

You'd be surprised how many of those I had after me.

Gripping the bark, I kept low to the ground and circled around the base of the tree as to keep myself hidden from any other wandering souls from the village. Once I was on the other side of the trunk, out of sight from the village I felt my tense muscles relax some. Taking a quick glance around I noted nothing but rows of trees spanning far in every direction, save for the path nearby that red equine went down.

Without another thought, I started weaving my way through the trees, wanting to get a bit deeper in to feel less visible. Once I felt like I was a good distance in, I looked up at the fruit bearing treetops with hungry eyes. Reaching up, I plucked one off the surprisingly short apple tree and brought it down to eye level. Giving it a cautious bite, the juice exploded in my mouth and I was thrown into a new world of flavor.

Silently thanking whatever god that blessed me with the ability to taste food after my rebirth, you know being undead and all, I ferociously tore into the apple. It didn't taste like any fruit I'd had from Azeroth. It looked like a plain, if not slightly shinier, red apple. But it's flavor was on another level, once again resurfacing my previous thought that everything I've seen in this world has been sickeningly perfect.

After stripping the rest of the flesh off the apple I looked up and started grabbing as many as I could, stuffing them into the enchanted pouch.

"BARK! BARK!"

Almost feeling my heart stop I spun quickly and came face to face with... a small dog. It was a kind I had never seen before, but it looked basically harmless at that size. After turning towards the dog, it had fallen silent as it watched me with it's tail frozen in place. Narrowing my eyes I let out a slow growl, causing it's tail to slowly recede between it's legs. I watched as the dog slowly reversed until it backed into the trunk of a tree and let out a loud yip before bolting off.

Waiting a few more moments and honing my hearing I listened to it running away, focusing on the sound. Then it suddenly stopped, and right as I thought maybe it was long gone... I heard it.

The sound of heavy footfalls running my way.

'Lots of them, at least four or five!' I thought to myself as my panic started to rise, before I calmed myself and remembered where I was. 'No... probably only two... sounds like more equines' I thought to myself as I listened to the pattern of the footfalls.

'Not yet' I thought as I quickly grabbed a couple more apples and took off where I came in.

Perspective: Applejack {Few Minutes Ago}

Stretching out I felt a small pop in my back, eliciting a small wave of pleasure as I sighed. With a small shake of my head, ruffling my mane a bit which by now had fallen free from it's usual braiding, I looked up at the sun peeking through the apple trees. Today had been quite the long morning so far at the farm as I loaded another full basket of apples on my back and made my way towards the barn.

As I neared it, I noticed Big Mac already loading another couple baskets of apples onto the back of a small cart.

"Shoot Mac, yer' back already?" I asked as he turned to me and gave a small nod. "Well come here an' help me carry this." I motioned to the overfilled basket on my back the best I could.

Without a word, the workpony made his way over to my side and knelt down, before standing up and lifting the basket free from my back. Free from the crushing weight, I let out a small sigh of relief and took in a deep breath.

Normally I'd never ask anyone for help, especially with my own job. But I knew better than to not accept help anymore especially on these busy days. A memory of me overworking myself resurfaced and caused me to cringe a bit, before shaking my head and following Mac to the cart.

"Sorry ah' couldn't be more help Mac, my leg's still sore from yesterday..." I apologized in a low voice, remembering the badly positioned buck I did yesterday rewarding me with a sprain.

"AJ," He started in his deep voice as he turned his head to me, "I told you it's fine."

A small smile graced my lips as he turned his head back and stopped next to the cart. With a small twinge of pain from my right hind leg, I stood up on two hooves and pushed the basket off him and onto the cart.

"Whew, alright Mac let's get-" Before I could finish my sentence, a sudden sound cut me off.

"BARK! BARK!"

Snapping my gaze in the direction of the sound, I was about to call out for Winnona when I heard a sudden panicked yelp. I felt my stomach do a backflip for a moment before Winnona came bursting through the trees, tail tucked tightly between her legs.

Noticing me, she quickly ran towards our spot and hid behind me while letting out small whines of fear. A quick glance to my brother and I could see the look of worry on his face as he turned to look at where the dog fled from.

"What is it girl? What's got ya spooked?" I whispered softly as I pet the back of Winnona's head, only getting a small whimper in return.

Turning back towards the trees, I quickly pulled my hat off and yanked out the bundled up rope I keep inside for emergencies. One glance from Mac was all he needed as we both started to gallop towards the trees where Winnona had come running.

The dog let out a small whine of protest, but didn't dare move away from the cart.

'That's not like her, she wouldn't even back down from a timberwolf, bein' the stubborn dog she is...' I thought to myself as I kept my head on a swivel, trying to find whatever it was that had spooked her.

Suddenly I picked up something, the sound of running. My ears locked onto the direction it came from and Mac must have noticed too because we both veered off towards that direction and gave chase. As we ran, the sound started to get quieter until the only hoof falls I could hear were Mac's and my own.

Slowing to a stop, I stomped the ground a bit in annoyance and turned to Mac who looked equally agitated.

"Did ya hear that Mac? There was definitely something here, darn fast thing too I didn't even get to see it." I said aloud as mac nodded.

"Eeyup." He stated, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance as he scanned his surroundings.

'Whatever it was... it's long gone now' I thought to myself as a small shiver went up my spine.

Something was wrong, and I couldn't quite place it. It's like I had walked into a stale patch of air. No wind, no sounds of birds or insects, just still cold air that almost felt like a cloud would form if I took a deep enough breath.

Shaking the strange feeling of dread, I turned to Mac and motioned back to the cart.

"C'mon Mac, Stalls will be opening soon." I said quickly, wanting to get away from the strange atmosphere.

"...eeyup." Mac answered quickly after a short pause, before turning and making a brisk pace back to the partially loaded cart.

Perspective: Dalandor

I let out a content sigh as I knelt down by the foliage containing my gear and reached into my pouch. Pulling out another apple I gave it but a cursory glance before quickly reducing it to nothing but it's core. Tossing it into the brush around me, I grabbed another and repeated the process.

Taking a quick look inside the pouch at the contents, I noted I had another five apples left, my saved up gold, random alchemy supplies and a couple other random baubles that had been in my bank.

After I felt like I'd had enough to eat, I slowly stood back up and began to make my way east along the treeline. I had to see where it ended if I wanted to have a rough idea where I was.

'There has to be some kind of landmark... anything' I thought to myself as I continued at a brisk pace.

Not long after, I crossed over the open path leading deeper into the forest. Taking a quick glance down the path to make sure that lavender horse or Zhevra was nowhere to be seen, I crossed and continued my way through the forest. The walk was definitely longer than it was when I headed west, it seemed like this forest was going to go on forever.

Keeping a brisk pace along the treeline, I noticed a small house coming into view. The house was small, not even sure you could call it a house, it looks more like a tiny cottage with a ridiculous amount of vegetation sprouting from everywhere. Surrounding the cottage flowed a small stream of water, with a tiny bridge that spanned it and follows a path I presumed led to the village.

At the sight of the stream I stopped, and felt just how many days it's been since I've had some water. The parched feeling in my mouth only having been temporarily abated by the apples I had earlier, now making a sudden return. By now the sun was already high in the sky, which was kind of strange but I didn't pay much attention to it as I was focused on the stream of water flowing around the small house.

Taking a quick glace at the direction I was heading I noted the end of the forest coming into view.

'Perfect... first though...' Carefully watching for any movement, I pulled out a crystal phial from my pouch and quickly made my way towards the cottage.

Barely half way there the door suddenly swings open and I hold back the urge to bolt away. My eyes quickly lock onto the figure in the door, the small yellow form of an equine, as it slowly backed out of the doorway. Seeing my chance, I took off as quickly and quietly as I could towards my destination. Dropping to the ground and coming to a stop with a small skid, I disappeared under the small bridge the stream flowed under.

I carefully positioned myself under it, keeping away from the liquid to avoid making any noise as the sound of hooves started impacting the bridge above me... followed soon by the sound of something being dragged behind it. The sound continued over the bridge, reaching the apex until it suddenly stopped and I heard a small thump. Holding my breath, I stayed completely silent and tried to squeeze up against the bridge as much as possible.

The silence hung in the air for what felt like an eternity, until the sound of hooves picked up and cleared the bridge as it continued to drag whatever it brought with it. I cautiously peeked out from behind the bridge and saw the equine again, this time in much greater detail.

It was a soft yellow pegasus, unlike the Lavender one I'd seen earlier that had both a horn and wings this one only had the latter. Dragging a sack of something towards a lanky looking tree nearby, which was covered in tons of birdhouses and nests, it paused when it arrived at the base of it's trunk. Giving out a small pant, it bit down on the sack and gently began to flap it's wings. Moments went by as it stood there on the ground, desperately trying to lift off with the heavy sack but to no avail.

I could hear it give a small whinny of annoyance and drop the sack, before heading back towards the cottage it came from. A few minutes passed by until I heard it cross above me once again, and reappear over by the sack. In it's mouth was a small butter knife, held awkwardly between it's teeth. I could feel a bit of amusement slip into my features as a small smile graced my lips at the display.

The small Pegasus was desperately trying to tear a hole in the sack but to no avail. Striking it over and over meekly, I wasn't even sure if the force behind the hit could even puncture a balloon. While watching it's futile attempts I quickly started doing what I came here to do in the first place, filling crystal phials with water and stuffing them back into my pouch.

'This one is definitely harmless' I inwardly chuckled to myself as the equine slowly became more and more frustrated.

After many failed attempts, it stomped one of it's hooves and quickly made it's way back to the cottage. Seeing an opening, I gave a quick glance around just to be sure and took off from under the bridge as I heard the cottage door click shut. Nearing that lanky looking tree, I paused for a second before checking the cottage door and still finding it shut. Gripping the leather handle of my axe, I pulled it from the loop on my waist and knelt down by the sack.

A quick slice, and the top of the bag opened revealing it's contents.

Bird feed.

'Of course...' I groaned to myself as I looked up at the bird houses above me.

Returning to my full height, I holstered the axe into the leather loop and made my way back to forest. As I crossed the treeline, I took a glance behind me and watched as the Pegasus from before was making it's way back over the bridge. It approached the sack of bird feed with something it it's mouth again, but I couldn't tell from this distance what it was.

What I could see is the tilt of it's head before looking around in confusion. Giving a small nod to myself, I backed into the trees a bit and continued down towards the east.

I had to find some kind of landmark. At this rate, I haven't seen anything I recognized... not even any of the herbs I've noticed in the forest were familiar to me.

That thought disturbed me, as I prided myself in my alchemical abilities. However, the more I looked around the more I started to realize that none of the Flora I'd seen matches anything I've seen before. Pushing the thoughts aside, I trekked onwards and kept a brisk pace through the trees.

{Some hours later}

Another long, uneventful walk later, I came to another end of the forest as I peered out into the rolling grass fields as far as I could see. However, my focus quickly shifted to one very noticeable and unfamiliar landmark.

Far in the distance, atop a daunting mountain lay a castle carved into it's very stone and marble. Even from here I could see the elegant marble and gold designs that made up the form of the castle. Squinting my eyes, I tried to think about where in the world I could have landed to see something new like this. At first I thought it was a blood elf structure, however as I stared at it I noticed the two shared only the color scheme and not the design at all.

'Wherever I am... I don't think they're affiliated with either side...' I pondered while looking at the large distance between me and the castle.

Not a tough trip, but definitely one I wasn't doing while the sun was so high in the sky. Pulling out the parchment and quill again, I roughly scribbled down the cottage and mountain I had found, along with the eastern edge of the forest. Stuffing it away, I looked at the treeline of the forest as it stretched on for what looked like forever down south. Shaking my head, I figured that was enough for now as I'd found a good landmark.

Spinning around, I made my back to where I left my gear and began the task of moving it all to the eastern side of the forest as I ran over some options in my head. Whatever I decided on, I knew for sure that I was going to act on it tonight.

Chapter 5: Revelations

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Chapter 5: Revelations

Darkness veiled the land as I ran towards the village I'd seen a couple days ago. I'd waited until I saw the last light go out and even longer after that before starting my plan. First things first, I was going to check the village for some kind of map. If I couldn't find that, I'd head to the castle I'd seen before and no doubt be able to get a read on where I am from there.

My arms and legs flexed as I ran at full speed, claws digging into the ground and propelling me forward at blazing speeds. In just a matter of moments, I was at the edge of the village and peering inside from behind a small house. My lupine eyes piercing the dark night with ease, I scanned the area taking in all I could. I quickly noticed that I couldn't read a single word on any of the signs.

Everything was written in a language I'd never seen in my life, not even close. Luckily for me, it seemed every store had a very obvious symbol depicting what they presumably sold.

Except one, with the depiction of quills and... sofas? That couldn't of been right.

Ignoring that one outlier, I slowly made my way through the empty town while sniffing at the air and checking every sign on the way. Suddenly, I stopped at a familiar smell... the same perfume I smelled in the forest. Following the trail, I quickly came upon what looked like a house built into a tree. I say this because, up nestled into the leaves of the tree, was an open window with a soft orange light shining through.

Tilting my head in curiosity, I made my way around the tree and noticed the large sign in the ground out front. The words may have been nonsense to me, but the large image of a book was all I needed to know.

'Library... and purple horse. What are the chances' I groaned to myself as I looked for a way in, circling the house. 'Who lives in a library...'

Reaching the other side of the tree again, I looked up to where I saw the open window just to find it closed. Cursing my luck, I circled one more time before resigning to trying one of the windows. Coming up to the window right of the door, I placed both my paws on the glass and tried to push up. To my surprise, the window lifted easily and quietly.

Smiling a bit, I slowly crawled into the interior of the tree.

Perspective: Twilight {5 minutes ago}

The creature towered over me, looking at me with cold judgmental eyes. Their very gaze locks me in place and makes my instincts scream out in terror. Every part of me wanted to run, but my body wouldn't obey me. Not even my magic would answer my call. I was defenseless in the face of this... thing.

"I don't like this Twilight..." Zecora's words echoed back in my mind. "This creature... it reeks of death..."

It's eyes flicked back and forth between us, until it spoke in a scratchy, echoing voice.

"Twilight?" It said slowly.

I felt a shudder through my body at it's voice, and I couldn't help but start to tremble. Here I was, a recently crowned princess, reduced to a whimpering mess. Finally, with what little courage I had left... I could only manage to speak barely above a whisper.

"P-please... d-don't hurt me..." I pleaded, getting it to squint it's eyes a bit and shake it's head... until-

My eyes flew open as I sat up in my bed, a cold sweat covering my whole body while my heart frantically beat in my chest. Gasping for breath a few times, I slowly started to calm down as I realized it was just a nightmare. Letting myself flop back down onto the bed, I just lay there for a while staring at the ceiling.

I let out slow, drawn out sigh as I lay motionless, wings spread out as I let my vision drift around unfocused. It's been a whole day since I saw it, and every time I closed my eyes... there it was. Staring into me with those dead blue orbs, scanning me all over. The feeling of being judged completely and found... lacking.

I had already sent a letter to the Princesses so they were aware something was going on... I should have mentioned my nightmare problem to Luna though.

'I'm sure they're busy enough already...'

Rubbing my face with my hooves, I let out a groan and rolled onto my side towards my night table. Glancing at the clock rewarded me with another reason to sigh in annoyance at the late hour.

'It's only two o'clock!' I yelled in my head as I grabbed both sides of my pillow and closed it around my head, the annoyance of constantly waking up every few minutes starting to grate on my patience.

I stayed like this for a few moments, before releasing the pillow and slowly getting out of bed. My horn shone a brilliant lavender and soon after the room was bathed in the soft orange glow of a lantern. Giving a small stretch and a flutter of my wings, I walked over to my my desk and plopped myself in the chair.

Lighting up my horn again, I pulled out a small folder I had tucked neatly inside the top drawer and began pulling out it's contents. Spreading every page evenly around the desk, I pulled out my quill before starting to work on a new sheet.

On each page were detailed drawings of that... creature I had encountered at the Everfree. I drew it all down as best as I could remember... the axe, the armor... the eyes. The eyes were the trickiest part of the drawing, every time I felt like I was getting them right I erased it and started over. No matter what I tried, I couldn't replicate the feeling those eyes gave you as they peered into you.

"Twilight?" A voice suddenly cut into the silence.

"AH!" I let out a quick yell and flared my magic, sending the sheets into a frenzy around the room before glaring at the source of the noise.

Standing in the doorway was a tired looking Spike dressed in pajamas and holding a lit candle. Rubbing an eye with his free hand he let out a yawn.

"*Yawn*... still awake? It's 2am Twilight..." He said sleepily.

Lighting up my horn, and quickly collecting all the pages that were strewn about, I piled it all neatly on the desk before letting out a sigh. "...I know. I can't sleep again."

"Still thinking about that thing?" He asked, walking up next to me.

Nodding, I rest my head on the desk as Spike put down his candle and picked up one of the pages, looking it over. As I watched him look over the drawings, I felt a small shiver coarse through my body. Glancing over to the open window in my room, I lit up my horn and shut it to stop any more cool night air from getting in.

Spike gave another yawn, and set the page back down on the table. "Well, I'm going back to bed. Try not to stay up all night again..." He droned on in a monotone voice as he lazily sauntered out of the room.

Pushing myself out from the desk, I got to my hooves and made my way to the bathroom. Once inside, I quickly filled the sink with cold water and splashed my face, cringing at the icy sensation. I let out a small pant and shook my head, flinging the water off my face before looking into the mirror.

'I'm a wreck...'

My reflection stared back at me, in all it's sad glory. My mane was unkempt, my coat messy. Bags were easily visible under my eyes and they were starting to turn bloodshot.

THUMP

A small thud downstairs broke me from my self pity, as I looked out of the bathroom door down the hall.

"...Spike?" I asked softly as I slowly made my way to the door.

Peeking out around it and looking down the stairs, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary. As quietly as I could, I made my way to the end of the hall, passing by the staircase and my bedroom door as I walked the silent corridor. Approaching the door at the end, I slowly turned the handle before peeking inside.

My heart almost stopped when I saw Spike, sleeping soundly in his bed.

I quickly snapped my attention to the stairs, my heart beating in my throat as I slowly made my way towards it. Staying low below the railing to hide myself, I peered downstairs into the dark main lobby of the library. My eyes flicked all over, looking for any signs of movement, but finding none.

Swallowing hard, I steeled my nerves as best I could and descended the stairs. Every step I took seemed to intensify the silence that hung around me, like a deafening white noise. I quickly lit up my horn, bathing the room in a soft purple glow and immediately noticed what had made the sound. A book, sitting in the very middle of the room with nothing around it, like it just fell from nowhere.

As I looked at the book, my mind put the pieces together and I could feel my adrenalin surge. Something else was definitely in here. I stood, frozen in place as my ears swiveled behind me at a faint sound.

Then, like a cool liquid rolling down my shoulder, I feel something breath right behind me as the hair from my coat stood on their ends.

I gasped in quickly, and just as a scream was about to leave my lips, my mouth is clamped shut by a hairy claw, while an arm wraps around my midsection... pinning down my wings.

I felt my panic spike, and I flailed for my life. In that moment, I felt my whole life flash before my eyes as tears quickly ran down my cheeks while I struggled to free myself. I'm not sure how long I fought, before I looked up and saw those very same eyes I'd dreamed about looking down at me.

Frozen, I helplessly watched as it held me in place, fully at it's mercy. Then, it's claw suddenly let go of my muzzle before slowly raising it up to it's face in a "Shhh" gesture. I swallowed nervously and quickly nodded, following it's sharp claws as they lowered from it's face.

Then, it's arm released me. As soon as I was freed I collapsed in place and pushed myself back into a bookcase. I stared back at the beast as it's eyes bored into me, before it slowly reached down to it's hip towards it's axe. I let out small whimpers as my shaking started to intensify.

"W-What do you w-want..." I asked quietly getting it to give pause, before grasping at a pouch situated behind it's hip.

I watched with bated breath, as it undid the loose knot tied around the top of the pouch, before reaching it's whole arm inside and pulling out a long rolled up piece of parchment. My fear slowly started to wane as I watched it's actions, my curiosity starting to grow with each passing moment. It took a step towards me, causing me to flinch a bit making him stop.

It let out a low growl, before tossing the rolled up parchment between us. Looking between the parchment and the imposing figure, I lit up my horn and enveloped the item in my magic. Almost immediately it bared it's teeth, snarling at me and getting into a low stance... it's axe already in it's hand.

My magic quickly fizzled out, and I waved my hooves frantically towards it in panic. A few tense moments went by, before it re-holstered it's weapon and stood back up to full height. Glancing back down at the parchment, I hesitantly started crawling forward and reached out for it. As my hoof touched it, I almost recoiled like it was going to attack me, but it was just normal parchment.

I let out a small breath, trying to calm my nerves as I slowly pulled it towards me and flattened it out. As the parchment rolled open, my eyes opened wide. Corner to corner, was an entire world map of land masses I'd never seen in my whole life... illustrated in immaculate detail! But... what did it want me to do with it?

"Azeroth?" It spoke suddenly, causing me to flinch and lock eyes with it again.

"I-I don't understand..." I meekly responded, getting a snort of annoyance from the creature.

It took a couple long strides forward, making my body go tense as it leaned forward and tapped on the map. Then, standing back up, it motioned around us.

Thinking about the meaning of it's actions, I felt a lightbulb go off in my head as my magic lit up out of reflex.

Again, the creature immediately tensed as I quickly motioned for it to wait. After a few seconds it eased up a bit and nodded as I focused on what I was looking for. Then, a moment later a small CRACK sounded as another rolled up piece of parchment appeared floating infront of me. I quickly cut off my magic, letting it fall to the floor, before I scrambled to rolling it open.

The creature eyed me suspiciously, before looking down at the parchment I presented to it.

"Equis." I said back, tapping at the corner of the map. "Equestria." I spoke again, tapping the correct continent then the floor of the library.

A number of emotions flashed through it's features, most prominently was confusion and anger. Before I could study it any longer, the creature turned around and walked over to a nearby table with piles of books I've yet to sort. I watched as it leaned its hands on the table for a few seconds, it's breathing slow and angry. Starting to shake again, I saw my breath form a cloud as I breathed out while watching the large form lean on the table.

"RAAAAA!" A loud roar bellowed from it's mouth as it slammed down it's axe into the table, splitting it it two in a single hit.

The thunderous boom shook the library, as it's gaze snapped to me and began quickly crossing the room... axe in hand. I felt my eyes shrink to pinpricks as my wings shot out, trembling in fear. There it was again... the same thing I felt back in the forest. I couldn't run, I couldn't scream, I couldn't even call on my magic.

I could feel a warm puddle spread out under me as I tried to push myself as far into the corner as possible. I clenched my eyes shut, only letting small whimpers escape as I waited for the inevitable.

Some princess I turned out to be.

...

Silence, and the faint howl of wind graced my ears.

Slowly opening one of my eyes, I expected to see those dead orbs looking back at me. Instead, I was greeted with nothing. Hesitantly looking around the room, I noticed both maps had disappeared as a cold breeze caused me to shiver. Looking over, I saw an open window with a gentle breeze disrupting the curtains that hung over it.

"Twilight?!" I heard a voice shout from upstairs.

Pulling myself back into reality, I looked down at the puddle I found myself in and felt my face heat up in embarrassment. I quickly lit my horn up and teleported out of the lobby and into the upstairs hallway, catching Spike as he was leaving his bedroom door looking worried.

"Spike, I need you to send a letter. Now." I said urgently, shocking Spike into action as he ran back into his room.

The sound of rummaging could be heard from inside, until he appeared back at the doorway with a parchment and quill. Wasting no time, I quickly began.

"Dear Princess Celestia..."

Chapter 6: Death and Vengeance

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Chapter 6: Death and Vengeance

I don't know how long I lay here, staring up at the trees above me in silence. Must have been a while, as I began to notice the small streaks of light piercing through random openings. I couldn't sleep, the memories of the night before burned into my mind and replayed over and over. It wasn't until a small ray of light, barely a speck, shifted into my eye that I groaned in annoyance and resigned myself to getting up.

The first thing I did upon returning from my little quest was study the new map. I made sure to mark where Twilight Purple had motioned at, before taking in everything else. While a bit unorthodox looking at first, it's not too different from the varying biomes in Azeroth's continents come to think of it...

I couldn't read any of the writing on the map, but I could at least make out what the symbols meant for the most part. From what I could tell, the most prominent species seem to be small ponies, gryphons, some more traditional looking horses and dragons.

'I could try a death gate again...' The thought whispered in the back of my mind.

I could.

This whole time I've known I could just open a portal and leave this place, but a part of me wanted to find another way. I'm not sure if it's the fear that, as I step through that portal, I'll come face to face with that monster as I did so many other times. Or... that it will kill me.

Firstly... It just bothered me. Having to rely on that damned spell that I had used so many times to return to that cursed place... after finishing whatever heinous task he'd given me. Even though I had heard of the fall of Ebon Hold, it didn't change my feelings towards the spell.

Secondly... even if I was "Immortal" I could imagine very clear limits on my abilities, which I thought up not too long after my first long flight on a griffon with lots of thinking time. If I can't find my body after I die, how do I come back? Well, the answer to that one is probably an eternity in spirit world purgatory.

Imagine if a unstable portal killed me somehow, and sent my body hurtling somewhere in spacetime. I'd be stuck in the spirit world forever... and that's not something I'd really prefer to do thank you very much.

Which is why I've always preferred the slower way to travel... usually by vehicle, wind rider or my own two feet. Of course, this all is under the assumption I'm even still immortal, and that first death wasn't a one off second chance.

But, seeing as there was no other way...

'I guess I might as well look around first, can't help to take in the sights a bit before I leave. After all I'll probably never see this place again anyway'

I looked at the forest around me, the early morning alive with birdsong. Stretching a bit, feeling a ripple of cracks up my back, I pulled myself back over to the forest edge. My eyes suddenly widened at the sight. The village I payed a friendly visit to last night lay before me across the short green field. However... things have definitely escalated while I've been resting.

Yeah, resting.

'I've certainly attracted a lot of attention' I thought to myself as I watch the bustling village during the early morning hours no less. 'All this over a library break in?'

The village in question was alive with activity, even at the early crack of dawn. Ton's of ponies with white coats and golden armor covered every entrance to the town, standing completely still with an unwavering gaze. Thoughts about relocating away from the forest came to mind, but were all put on hold at what I saw before me.

A Equine creature with a Pure white coat appeared at the edge of the village, looking towards the forest I was in. It was much larger than the other ponies, rivaling even my own height. It's mane and tail seemed to gently move of it's own accord, swaying in a prism of colors I'd never thought I'd see come to life like they were right now.

I'm not... sure the emotion I felt looking at the thing. It was certainly a beautiful creature, more so than most I've seen in my travels... but as I watched it I couldn't help but feel a strange warmth.

Placing my hand on my chest, slipping though my armor, I felt my cold skin against my hand. After a long pause, I felt a faint heartbeat, before another long pause. I certainly was an oddity among other Death Knights or undead that was for sure. Cold as ice, but still had a heartbeat... I can't explain how it feels to have cold blood flowing though your veins like that.

'I guess the alternative is no heartbeat so I'll take what I can get'

I turned my gaze back to the village, and watched the creature for a while longer, wondering what it was planning on doing. Much to my surprise, it just stood there... staring into the forest as if waiting for me to make the first move. I don't think I'll be sneaking into the village any time soon... not that it mattered, as I'd already found what I was looking for.

Thinking back to what I’d seen about the mountain, both from the map and what I could observe from here, getting there without being seen would be quite the difficult task. Based off what I could match up from the illustrations... the only two ways to the castle are by the train network or the heavily guarded caravan trail.

‘Getting into the castle was going to prove much more difficult than I anticipated... perhaps it’s not worth it after all’ I pondered the idea, settling on a decision. ‘Maybe I shouldn't be pushing my luck anyway, I don't even belong here’

And it was true, you could see the stark contrast between me and the very land itself. The longer I stayed here, the more of a chance I’d corrupt whatever peaceful land this was. My thoughts drifted back to the winged unicorn I had “met” in the library, and felt a twinge of regret in the back of my mind. Looking back at it... I really must have terrified the poor thing.

Letting out a deep sigh, I resigned myself to what I was about to do.

While I preferred to do this while I was in worgen form, I could still preform the spell as a human too. I just preferred my beast form due to the... incision on my hand I had to make. Proven from many battles, I’ve found that small cuts stop bleeding much faster in my beast form.

Kneeling down, I drew a small line in the dirt, before returning to my full height and lifting my hand over it... before making a shallow cut on the palm of my hand. I gingerly moved my hand over the line I drew, and let a drop of blood land on each side, before taking a deep breath and recalling the incantation. Steeling my nerves, I let the last drop land in the center.

Flinching as it landed, I expected the purple energy to light up like it had many times before... but it never did. The blood slowly absorbed into the dirt as I furrowed my brow in annoyance. Growling in frustration, I brushed the dirt away and made a new line, before drawing more blood out of my fresh wound. Three small drops later, and the portal still wasn’t active.

My rage began to boil over as I continued to retry the ritual, even making new cuts to draw from to try and bring forth some kind of reaction. After the fifth attempt with no results, I finally gave up as blood flowed freely down my arm and into the dirt below. Trying to distract myself from the situation I now found myself in, I rummaged around in my pouch before pulling out a small bundle of bandages and began wrapping my lacerated arm. It would work for now... at least until I had some real combat to leech off of.

I was quickly pulled out of the bandaging process by the faint sound of metal clanging together. I froze, and snapped my attention back to the village and set my eyes upon quite a sight. A large mass of ponies wearing that golden armor, and even a few wearing a deep blue, had gathered at the edge of the village in small groups. Before I could take in any more details, they started to fan out towards the forest, closing in quickly.

'They're gonna search the whole forest?!' I could feel my heartbeat raise as I quickly shifted back into Worgen, and took off deeper into the trees. 'Okay, I definitely took it too far this time, these ponies are definitely much more skittish than what I'm used to'

My paws beat hard against the ground as I charged through the forest, branches and dead bits of wood crumbling under my strides. The sound of armor and weapons clinking together reached my ears, as they swiveled around at every new noise.

The air quickly grew stagnant as I felt my panting grow deeper, the patchy wooded ground quickly transforming into small pools of stale yellow water. I had seen this on the map, some kind of bog connected to the forest. I couldn't read any of the warnings, but I could tell from all the symbols that nothing good dwelled here.

'So... no death gate...' My mind raced as I darted through the bog, 'If that doesn't work... what if...'

I felt my adrenalin start to rise, as I realized the possible situation I was in.

With the realization that I can't open a portal to Ebon Hold anymore, what if other abilities of mine didn't work?

'I'm gonna have to test them out sometime, but for now...' I cut off my thought process as my ears picked up a peculiar sound to my right.

I stopped my running, panting slightly as I do, and slowly stand on my hind legs to get a better read on what I heard. Focusing on the direction, I listened intently... trying to ignore the croaking of frogs and the bubbling of the warm bog's water.

*CLAAAANG*

My ears picked up the noise, and I immediately recognized the distinct sound.

Combat.

It seems, even faced with the possibility of true death... I'm still powerless against my own sense of curiosity. I'd quickly tracked the sounds of fighting, and was nearing the source. On my way here, the frequency of attacks had reduced substantially. Nevertheless, I pressed on towards the noise, until a deathly screech filled the air... causing all my hair to stand on end.

All the stagnant water around me rippled from the intensity, as I covered my sensitive ears with my paws.

'What the hell was that' I stopped for a moment, pondering if this was really worth it.

At this point, I couldn't hear the sounds of fighting anymore, and figured it had probably come to it's conclusion anyway. This was further cemented by the coppery smell that reached my nose not a moment later, the stench of death.

Ahead of me, there was a sheer drop off into quite a large pit, at least from this side. Peering over, my eyes widened at what I saw.

A hydra, a damned hydra! But still, It looked a bit smaller than what I'm used to...

'Still young perhaps?

Directly under me, roughly 100 feet down at least, was a hydra which was violently attacking... the wall? I leaned over the edge of the cliff a bit, trying to get a better look at what it was striking, when I spotted a bit of movement. It looked like a pony had managed to wedge themselves up into a small crevice, and was using it as cover from the beast.

Sniffing the air again, my gaze turned to the other side of the pit and was met with a grim sight. Piled up against each other were the mangled bodies of three other ponies, all white coats with golden armor... all battered and covered in blood. The sight would make any lesser being gag, luckily I'd become accustomed to such sights after witnessing the brutality of the horde.

I could hear a bit of whimpering coming from the area below me, followed by another strike from the hydra slamming into the rock face. As it collided, the pony hiding themselves away let out a quick scream, and I could hear sobbing begin.

'Should I... help?' I pondered as I continued to watch the scene. '...no. It's none of my business and a hydra is far too much trouble to be worth it'

Having made up my mind, I began to back up from the cliff edge. As I pulled away, the screaming intensified ten fold, and the sound of bones cracking filled the air. My attention snapped back, as the hydra pulled the pony out from the wall, their hoof pinned inside one of the creatures mouths'.

The other three heads let out a victorious scream, before the forth violently threw the pony across the pit and towards the rock face.

On reflex I reached my hand out as if grasping for them, and they instantly froze, purple energy enveloping their body. This only lasted for a split second before they hurtled towards me, screaming the whole way.

My hand grasped onto the ponies breastplate as she collided with me, a look of absolute shock and pain plastered all over her face. Before I could even move, an intense screech sounded from below as each head turned to me with a look of anger.

'At least Death Grip still works!' I thought to myself as a ear shattering screech boomed below.

Turning in place, I pulled the pony in close to my chest with one arm as I took off as fast as possible. I could feel the ground quake as the hydra was presumably trying to follow me... however I knew that once I hit the trees it would probably give up.

Probably.

Looking down at the pony in my arm, I noticed they were turning much more pale than they were before. The wound in their leg was... bad. Really bad. Blood was leaking out at a very alarming rate, meaning she was probably any moment away from death.

Part of me wondered why I should even care in the first place, but I pushed that to the back of my mind quickly.

'That kind of thinking is exactly what people would expect from Death Knights... plus I've already taken it this far, might as well see it through.'

In no time, I had exited the bog area and found a large cluster of trees to hide into. Panting hard, I set the pony down by the trees and nearly collapsed in place, dropping to one knee.

I'd already used my form a lot lately, and was planning on taking a break from it today... but it seems fate had other ideas. Sparing a quick glance to the pony I'd "Saved" I saw she'd propped her back up against the trees as she shakily, and messily, wrapped what remained of her leg in a bandage.

I could see her eyeing me warily, watching my every movement. I took a step towards her, and she dropped her half wrapped bandages and grasped at her waist, probably for a weapon that wasn't there. She had heart, that's for sure.

I let out a deep sigh, knowing I'd probably regret what I'm about to do.

Breathing deeply, a mist shrouded over me as I shifted back into human form. Once the process was finished, I opened my eyes and saw the pony watching me with wary, and weak eyes... holding a large stone in her hoof.

Slowly, I raised my hands up in an attempt at a peaceful gesture. This seemed to work a bit, as I saw her hesitate for a second, before slowly dropping the rock. Once it touched the ground her arm went limp, letting it lay next to her.

'She's not gonna make it' I thought solemnly. '... damn it Dalandor you know you can't save everyone' I pestered myself as I reached into my pouch.

Pulling out an imbued vial filled with water, a crystal powered beaker boiler, and a few herbs I got to work on putting the potion together. I had sat only a few feet away from the pony, but as I worked away I could see her watching me, albeit weakly as her eyes slowly began to droop.

"Two parts Icethorn one part goldclover..." I absentmindedly talked to myself as I mixed the ingredients in and gave it a small swirl in the vial.

As I swirled the liquid around, it quickly turned bright red, perpetually swirling around inside the vial. I could see the pony staring at it with wonder, surely they knew what potions were?

I hesitantly placed the sealed vial on the ground, and rolled it towards the pony. She looked down to it for a second, before slowly reaching down and picking it up with one hoof. By now, the blood had started to pool under her a bit and I could see the sockets of her eyes were beginning to sink.

Pulling the cork out of the vial, she slowly lifted it to her mouth, hesitating for just a moment, before throwing the whole thing back in one gulp. Right after she did, I could see her hold her throat in pain, as the potion spread throughout her system.

'Yeah... first few times really burn going down' I thought to myself as she slowly stopped squinting her eyes.

Suddenly, her eyes fluttered back open and flicked towards me in surprise. Color rapidly returned to her coat causing it to shine bright white again, albeit still covered in splotches of blood. Quickly checking herself over, she ran her hooves all along her body, even her leg which she'd haphazardly wrapped in bloody bandages.

Quickly tearing them off, she hesitantly bent the limb and flinched a bit like she was expecting it to hurt. Even the gaping holes made by the creature had closed up, with scars of course.

After looking her limb over a few more times, her gaze slowly locked with mine. I could see the gears turning in her head, and I bet I knew exactly what was on her mind.

'Now what?' I chuckled inwardly to myself at the display.

After a few more moments of silence between us, I quickly stood causing the pony to flinch, but otherwise not move. Turning away, I began to leave the pony behind when I heard it shout something to me. I spun around, and saw she'd returned to standing, looking at me expectantly.

I shrugged my shoulders back to her, eliciting an annoyed look. Rolling my eyes, I turned back to her fully and crossed my arms.

"I can't understand you, pony." I spoke back in Common.

This seemed to have the desired effect, as the ponies eyes furrowed in frustration as she tapped her hoof on her mouth. A few moments went by, before she quickly dug at the ground... making three small marks. Motioning to the small divots, then to herself... then the direction we came from.

'She wants to go back for her friends'

"No." I said simply, shaking my head so she knew what the word meant.

Her eyes widened at this as she yanked her helmet off, causing her black mane to fall free. As the helmet left her head, her coat turned from pure white to a silvery color. Dropping it to the ground with a clang, she stomped with one hoof and pointed back towards the hydra again.

"No." I said again, getting her to snort in frustration. "They're dead."

She tilted her head a bit, as I rolled my eyes and pointed back at the hydra's direction, then drew a finger over my throat. "Dead."

This seemed to get the point across, as she collapsed onto her haunches and her ears splayed back. I stood there silently, not wanting to say anything else to upset her. Her head tilted down, I couldn't see her face but I knew what was happening, as I could see the small stream of tears steadily dripping off her muzzle.

Letting out a tired sigh, I turned around and continued my way back through the forest. I heard a choked sob and frantic movement, before the sound of hooves stomped behind me. Glancing back, I saw her freeze in place.

She'd gotten back up and made it about half way towards me, nervously looking at her surroundings. Her eyes locked with mine again as she rubbed her leg and asked me a question. Only one word.

'Well it sounded close enough to a "please" to me...' Rolling my eyes, I motioned for her to follow me.

The moment I did, she let out a sigh of relief and picked up her helmet... placing it back on her head. As she did, her hair seemed to pull up into the helmet and her coat returned to it's white color.

My eyes widened at this, and a small smile formed on my face.

'Perhaps they are more resourceful than I thought. That's a clever enchantment for something as simple as a guard' I thought to myself. '...maybe I should consider getting on their good side. They may know of a way to get me home'

My smile faded at that thought. Did I really consider Azeroth my home? Sure, I came from there but I only have a few years worth of memories at most, most of them worth forgetting.

'No... I have to go back, I still have so many questions' My mind flashed back to a moment in time... back when I was in Ebon Hold.

I was pulled from my thoughts as the pony cleared her throat, getting my eyes to lock with her own. She quickly pulled away from my gaze, her ears splaying back a bit.

A bead of cold sweat rolled down my face, as I quickly pushed the memory down.

'Not now... I can reminisce later...'

Shaking my head a bit, I proceeded the direction I had come from when I heard the sound of fighting. I could hear the pony keeping up with me, surprisingly enough. I'd expected her to have difficulty maneuvering forest ground on four legs considering how much dead foliage was littering the floor. However, every time I'd take a peek behind me, I'd see her keeping pace with me while expertly weaving through the obstacles... even with her smaller build.

Refocusing my gaze, I quickened my pace a bit towards where I remember the village to be... and before long I began to see the sun's rays piercing through the dense forest ahead. The pony must have noticed too, because I started to hear her pace increase and, before long, she had passed me... running for the treeline. Then, she hesitated and looked back to me, noticing I'd stopped.

She seemed to be thinking hard on something, before looking back up to me and lifting one hoof to her breast. Closing her eyes, she smiled and gave a small bow before holding it there for a few moments.

I watched the display with surprise, I understood she was thankful... but I was a bit taken back by her willingness to show it. However, before I could think on it any longer, she raised her head up to look at me and smiled.

Tapping her hoof one last time on her chest, she spoke. "Silversong."

I watched her for a few moments, before nodding tapping on my own chest. "Dalandor."

She smiled, and gave a small nod. "Dalandor." She said back, before turning in place and jumping through the treeline.

I couldn't help myself, I was the curious type after all. Stepping towards the treeline, I peered out into the clearing and towards the town as the pony ran towards it. I could see a number of guards at the village, either patrolling or talking amongst themselves.

However, the mood shifted quickly once ponies started noticing the blood covered guard frantically sprinting towards them. Most of the ponies stopped what they were doing and ran to meet her, huddling around her and probably bombarding her with questions. However, this all stopped as the figure I'd seen before appeared from the village.

It looked hesitant at first, but quickly ran to the smaller pony before embracing her with her large white wings... completely covering her. This continued for a few moments, until it pulled it's wings back and I noticed the blood covered pony whispering something to the larger one. In an instant, her gaze snapped to where I was standing, or at least the wooded area around me.

'I hope' I thought to myself as her gaze remained locked towards me, before I saw a bright golden light gleaming from her head.

My eyes widened as I watched the color grow, my mouth falling agape.

'That looks like-'

My thoughts were cut off at a sudden white flash, as the light quickly dissipated before I saw every guard that was wearing golden armor begin to glow slightly. Not soon after, the sound of hooves from almost every direction reached my ears.

'They're retreating...' I thought to myself as my eyes widened. 'I'm between them and retreat!'

I frantically looked around, before settling for the least thorny looking bush I could find. Quickly pulling my helmet back on I'd retrieved from my pouch... I crawled into the brush to try and remain hidden. Several thorns scratched at parts of my exposed skin, annoying... but bearable.

The sound of hooves grew louder, until guards of both gold and blue began to dart past me. Some looking worse for wear than others but none seemed to be really harmed in any way. I guess the group I'd met was just unfortunate enough to stumble upon a hydra's den.

As soon as it started, it finished. The sound of hooves being replaced by silence, as I quickly pulled myself out from the brush. Ignoring the small cuts and twinges of pain, I bring myself to my feet and glance back towards the open field... and all the ponies gathering there.

'A hydra's den...' I thought again, sighing knowing exactly what I was about to do. 'Pretty dangerous to have so close to a village'

I let out a small growl, before turning back to the hydra den and setting off.

'If I want them to help me, I'll get them to like me the only way I know how'

Pulling my axe out of it's holster, I looked it over slowly. I hadn't the chance to use it on anything here yet... but there's no reason it wouldn't be just as devastating as in Azeroth. While I'd saved money buying cheap gear, I definitely didn't for my weapons. Well, weapon... seeing as the brother to this axe currently lay embedded in the wall of a house, in an entirely different world no less.

The axe had a black leather handle, a deviation from the reddish color it was supposed to have. The head had a silver serpent etched into the side, and all along the edge of the blade was a green fell iron that had been imbued into the head of the axe. The top of the axe came to a sharp point, allowing one to impale their target or aim for weaknesses in their armor.

My thoughts came to an end as I neared the pit I'd seen before, and I slowly brought myself back up to the edge again. It looked as if the creature had dug the ground out here, or maybe it's the offspring of the ones that did. On the opposite side to where I am, the ground steadily declines to the bottom of the pit like a large dirt ramp.

Peering down, I sighed in relief to see the creature was still there. However, now it lay on the ground, huddled up against the wall sleeping peacefully. I took in it's nest, and noticed only two ponies seemed to be in the pile I'd seen earlier.

'Sleeping off a meal huh?' I thought to myself as I stood back up and rounded the pit, making my way to the decline I could use to get down there.

Careful not to wake the sleeping hydra, I quietly slid down the dirt ramp... paying careful attention to my footing as to avoid knocking any large stones down the way. However, my attempts were in vain as I kicked a particularly well hidden stone, and it went tumbling down into the pit... the sound of shifting dirt and gravel causing the creature to stir.

Wasting no time, I broke out into a sprint and made it to the mangled bodies of the ponies. By now, a couple of the heads had awoken and were looking to where I was, anger quickly filling their features. I had managed to grab one of the bodies by it's armor as one of the heads screeched towards me, followed by it's whole body moving to stand.

"RRRAAA!" I let out a shout as I spin around and toss the limp body towards the hydra.

One of the heads quickly intercepted it by grabbing it with it's mouth, causing me to let out a small smile. Wasting no time, I brought my hand up and slowly squeezed my fist closed towards the body... feeling tension as if something was building in my hand. Then, as I was about to fully close my fist, I opened my hand to the sound of an explosion.

Watching the hydra in amusement, the body hanging from one of it's mouths violently exploded... sending out bone shrapnel and peppering the hydra all over. It screeched in agony as a now headless neck flopped to the ground unmoving, and the others swung about wildly, blinded by bone shards.

Axe in my right hand, I grasped the last pony body with my other and began to sprint towards the beast. With a flex of my arm I tossed the body under the hydras left side, before running around it the other way to use it's own body as a shield. It's heads went into a frenzy as they felt something touch their leg, until the sound of an explosion rang out again.

The force of the blast knocked the hydra over as it screamed in pain again, quickly rolling over onto it's back. Without hesitation, I leapt into the air and grasped my axe with both hands. Letting out a mighty roar, I swung the axe down and buried it deep inside the beasts underbelly. It let out a pained scream that was quickly drowned out by the sound of gurgling. But I didn't stop.

Swing after swing, I chopped at the underbelly of the beast over and over. Blood and gore staining my armor as my knuckles began to turn white... each swing carving deeper and deeper into it's innards. With each attack, the Hydra would let out a small noise, or twitch, eliciting another hard chop. As I swung, I could feel any wounds I'd gained over the last few days start to close, as the life of the hydra was being slowly leeched to my own. With one final swing, I embedded the axe into the chest cavity and leaned back, my shoulders slumping a bit after all the exertion.

Panting heavily, I looked over my work with satisfaction. I'd fought hydras before in Azeroth, but the feeling of a fresh kill was unlike anything else. A part of me hated that I liked to kill, another side had convinced me it was okay to feel good about killing those that deserved it. But it didn't matter in the end... because I still felt good every time I took a life and I hated that.

Shaking my head, I pulled my helm off and wiped cold sweat off my brow. After taking in the sight of the hydra one last time, I sighed and placed the helm back into my pouch before reaching for my axe. With a bit of effort, I pulled it free of the beast's underbelly and got to work.

Leaves and sticks crunched underfoot as I made my way back to the village. Under my left arm was a mass of white and red rags, covering what I'd extracted from the hydra as proof of kill. Along with that, Id pried off the three sun emblems from the breastplate of the dead guards. I shuffled them around a bit in the cloth I wrapped them in, listening to the sound they made as they clinked together.

Before long, I came to the edge of the tree-line again and hesitated as I looked out. All of the guards who'd been in the forest had gathered around the area, and that same large horse was still present... however I couldn't see the one who called herself Silversong. Letting out a small sigh, I braced myself as I broke through the treeline and made a steady pace towards the group.

For the first few seconds, none of the ponies had even noticed me enter the clearing. But one by one, they all shifted their gaze to me before freezing. Almost all at once, the rest of the eyes turned to lock with me... including the larger one's gaze. I felt it on me like two lasers, scorching right through me. I met her gaze, and as I neared closer the mass of ponies quickly shifted and began to run forward to surround me.

I quickly stopped, and bent down a bit, thinking maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. However, before they made it past the larger one, without breaking eye contact... she raises a foreleg up causing them all to slide to an abrupt stop.

Scanning me for a few more moments with bated breath, she slowly lowers her hoof and takes hesitant steps towards me. Watching her intently, and taking a few glances to the ponies behind her, I continue my way across the field. We both come to a stop, less than few feet from each other as we stand at almost equal height.

She towers over me only slightly, however it would be a much different story if I were in my worgen form. Atop her head was a very impressive horn... now that's more like what I'm used to seeing. Her hair looked even stranger up close, like some kind of ethereal energy with a mind of it's own.

'I also couldn't just pretend I'm not the same creature which attacked them... after all that pony I saved had seen me shift forms' I thought to myself as I looked into the Equine's Purple eyes.

I could see her scanning me up and down, but often flicking to meet my gaze... like she was looking for something. Then, her eyes fell upon the bloodied rags I had under my arm and squinted suspiciously.

"Silversong." I said aloud, getting the horse to jump a bit, and some of the ponies farther behind her start whispering.

I could see an array of emotions cross her face as she looked me over, and her mouth opened to speak when the sound of hooves clattering rose behind her. Both of us broke our stares and let our gaze fall upon the source of the noise, and I felt a wave of relief as Silversong hurriedly crossed the field towards me... much to the visible agitation of their leader.

She looked to be covered in some kind of blanket, her armor having been taken off but the blood still very much present. Her own colors had returned to her coat, but she came to a quick stop when she saw the look the larger one was giving them. I began to move around the horse, giving her a wide berth as I did causing her to snap back to me and go to speak.

I met her gaze with a glare of my own, her mouth quickly snapping shut. I saw her ears twitch for a moment, but otherwise stayed alert as she watched me. I could see her jaw clench a bit, before she sighed and lightly motioned to Silversong.

Making my way around her, I came up to the pony who I'd saved from the hydra. I could see her looking up to me in curiosity, and a hint of fear. Stopping just a couple feet from her, I knelt down and placed the tied up cloth on the ground, before unraveling it and spreading it out. Her eyes locked with the small objects inside, and I could see tears begin to form in her eyes as she slowly reached a hoof forward and picked up one of the emblems.

Tearing her eyes away from the small item, she locked her gaze with me again as I pulled the bloodied mass of linen from under my arm. This seemed to set her on edge a bit, as I saw her muscles tense as it hit the ground, a meaty thwack sounding out on impact. Wasting no time, I unraveled the cloth and unveiled it's contents... and as I did I could see her visibly recoil at the sight.

The heart I had pulled from the hydra lay before us, blood still oozing from the spots I had cut it out and soaking into the cloth it rest upon.

The large horse who had been watching cautiously this whole time let out a gasp at the sight, her wings flaring out a bit. I payed her no mind as I brought my eyes back up to Silversong, who looked to be having trouble processing what she saw. I let out a sigh, as I slowly stood to my full height and turned back to the larger pony... who regarded me with a mix of apprehension, and fear.

I motioned forward with my hand, in a gesture I knew she'd understand.

Lead on.

Chapter 7: Answers

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Chapter 7: Answers

The soft clicks of hooves complemented the sound of my own footsteps as I followed the regal form ahead of me. Initially, she just stared at me like a deer caught in a pyroblast. However, she got over the surprise quickly... very quickly in fact. I could really say I was surprised with the mask she put on, I could barely get a read on what she was thinking. There was now no doubt it was a she, because it's not hard to tell from back here... especially considering the almost equal height. The sight of such things has no effect on me however, I am undead after all.

Of course, I was only looking because of what had caught my attention on her flanks... the large marks which adorned each one. I had finally got a good look at the rest of her form, and noticed them right away, the large image of a radiant sun plastered on each one.

'Some kind of ceremonial tattoo or status symbol?' Possibilities raced through my mind, until I noticed I was more or less staring into her rear for an uncomfortable amount of time.

I tore my gaze away quickly, if I was alive I might have even been embarrassed. However, she didn't seem to have noticed, or didn't care, as her eyes were locked straight ahead. The guards who had gathered when I emerged from the forest quickly broke apart before us. Taking a glance back, I saw Silversong was still sitting by the hydra heart, and was cradling the emblems in her hooves.

We entered the village from the nearest entrance, and I immediately noticed the silence. Every street and market stall was devoid of anyone as far as I could see.

'Well they probably either held up in their homes or evacuated, I still think it seems a bit extreme for a library break-in' I thought to myself as we continued through the ghost town.

I didn't bother asking anything... for obvious reasons, as we made our way towards what felt like the center of the village. Crossing over a bridge which spanned a stream, I looked over the edge and saw the small length of water that passed through the village unobstructed. Certainly was a pleasant place I'll give them that, much different than the architecture I was used to from Stormwind.

Memories of large stone brick buildings came to mind, and the many water ways that spanned the great city. It wasn't ugly or anything, but this place just felt more vibrant.

As we crossed the bridge, a larger building came into view which had a bit of a different design than any I'd seen so far.

'Looks like some kind of government building... Town Hall perhaps' I mused to myself as the sound of more hooves approached me from behind.

I took a quick look behind me, tensing a bit, as a guard made his way around me... giving a wide berth. He came up to the white Equine's side, before she lowered her head and they quietly whispered to each other. He was a bit bulkier than most of the ponies I'd seen but about the same height as them... with the exception of Sunshine there. However, the armor he wore was much different than that of the other guards. Rather than the gold or blue I'd seen, his seemed to be a lavender color with gold trim, along with a matching helmet that put his blue mane into a mohawk.

'Wait.' I could feel an uneasy feeling creep up my spine as I looked him over.

As they finished whispering he quickly nodded, and gave me one last glance. I could see a look of barely concealed anger behind his eyes, burning like a fire. On the front of his armor adorned a shield crest, along with a large purple... star...

'You've seriously got to be kidding me'

By now, questions were starting to bubble up in my mind, and I could feel frustration creeping in at not being able to answer any of them. One of the most pressing being... just who's house did I break into?!

His stare only lasted a second, before he broke it off and continued back where he came from at a hurried pace. The sound of a door opening pulled my attention back ahead just in time to see a prismatic tail disappear inside the building, and a few guards watching me cautiously from the door. Kicking into motion, I followed her inside... pausing for a moment as I got to the door and took a quick scan of the interior.

'Definitely a Town Hall'

The inside was about what I expected... large open room, plenty of space for chairs and tables, and even some balconies a floor above us. There were a couple guards in the golden gear I had seen earlier positioned around the room, five total.

The main room was empty of furniture... save for the red carpet that ran down the middle, along with a low table accompanied by two fluffy pillows. I raised an eyebrow at this, but quickly remembered that Equines probably couldn't sit in chairs too well. Well, at least ones of her... size.

Said pony gracefully sat at the table, before motioning to the unoccupied cushion across from her. I let out a small groan, before crossing the room and taking my place upon the cushion, squirming around a bit to try and get comfortable. Sunshine next to me wasted no time as her horn lit up, casting a soft yellow glow. I tensed at the sudden action, but quickly relaxed once I saw what she was doing.

Floating in her magical grasp was a teapot, floating just above the table as it tilted just a bit... steaming hot liquid flowing from it's spout. Filling up a cup, she went to put the pot down before motioning to me. I just shook my head, getting a small shrug from her before the pot disappeared in a flash of white. I blinked a couple times, removing the spot it had left in my vision, when the creaking of a door caught my attention.

The purple guard pony I'd seen talking to sunshine entered with a small box floating by his head, his horn engulfed in a aura the same color as book horse's was. His steps were muffled by the red carpet as he made his way towards us, eyes locked on me the whole time.

Reaching us, he paused for a moment before placing the box down in the center of the table... as the lid cracked open revealing it's contents. Two large jewels... no, two necklaces with a large sapphire inlay in each. Immediately, the left one was engulfed in a gold aura and lifted from the box. I watched as it floated over to sunshine and latched around her neck... a small flash of light pulsing from the chain as it locked in place.

She watched me expectantly, flicking her eyes to the box and the necklace inside. Sighing, I reach for the box... before I freeze.

'Could be cursed...' I peeked over to Sunny, who was watching me intently, 'Better safe than dead, can't afford to take that chance right now'

Deciding to be extra cautious, I slowly pushed the box towards her and pointed at the one on her neck. She blinked in confusion, until I pointed at the one around her neck again and held out my hand. A few seconds of silence ensued, before she lit up her horn and clicked the piece of jewelry off.

Floating it over to me, she let it fall into a pile in my hand as I looked it over. Other than the runes I couldn't read etched finely around the sapphire... I couldn't see any other red flags. Hesitantly putting it on around my neck I clicked it shut eliciting a flash of light from the chain... which surprisingly didn't feel like anything.

Leaning back from the table a bit, I watched as the other necklace is lifted out of the box and fastened around her neck... before I feel a strange warmth surge from where the sapphire lay on my chest. On reflex, my hand shot up to the necklace and griped it with my hand, until a sound froze me in place.

"Please don't do that." A motherly voice spoke in perfect Common, catching me off guard and making me jump.

I locked eyes with the large pony across from me, my eyes wide in surprise as she took a long sip from her floating teacup. Hesitantly, I loosened my grip on the necklace and let my arm relax. I watched the pony in silence as she slowly lowered her cup onto the table, before looking straight at me.

"Clever enchantment, isn't it?" She spoke again, this time I was definitely sure I was hearing things right.

"...yes." I finally answered in my echoing voice, getting the nearby guard to shift his stance a bit. "Apologies for the strange behavior... I had to be sure you weren't trying to curse me."

At this, she tilted her head a bit... brow furrowed in confusion. "Curse you? Why would I do that?"

Answering with a shrug, I sighed. "You wouldn't be the first, and likely wont be the last to try.”

There was a moment of silence between us, until she spoke up again. "I must say, you definitely were not what I expected. I don’t mean that in a bad way mind you. It’s just your way of presenting yourself is a little... intense." She stated flatly.

I raised an eyebrow at her as I crossed my arms over my chest. "I figured if you can help me I might as well show you I'm willing to get along."

"By killing a hydra?" She asked, getting a silent look from me in return. “Tell me, I’ve been excited to hear about where you come from... I’ve never seen anything of your kind before.”

I let out a slow breath, calming my agitated nerves, growing restless at the feeling of being glared at by a certain nearby guard. “Pardon me, but... I don’t think I even know who you are yet.” I said matter-o-factly.

She had a look of surprise for a moment, before she gave me a soft smile. "Oh, my apologies. I hadn't realized you didn't know of me." Straightening out her back, she took on a regal a posture as possible from her seat at the table. "I am Princess Celestia, Co-Ruler of Equestria and Keeper of the Sun." She finished her little spiel with a smile, as the guard who'd been watching idly by had a smug smile plastered on his face.

The whole time he'd been here, his eyes had been locked onto me and I could feel it. Like two icicles boring into me, it didn't unsettle me so much as just straight pissed me off.

I gave a small nod, suppressing any emotions from showing on my face.

'Not just a Princess... but the Co-Ruler? And what does Keeper of the Sun even mean?' I thought as questions piled up in my mind. 'Well now that I think about it... a lot of what I've seen has been day and night themed. I can only imagine what Sunshine's opposite looks like, or I guess I should call her Celestia'

Breaking my train of thought, I met eyes with the Princess again as I set my hands on my knees. Trying to ignore the anger rising in my chest at the eyes which still hadn't moved themselves from me.

'If this guy doesn't stare somewhere else I'm gonna gouge his fuckin' eyes out' My hands slowly clenched around my knees until my knuckles started turning white.

"And I suppose you already know my name?" I asked through grit teeth, already knowing the answer.

Giving a short nod, she motioned to the door leading outside. "Yes, one of my guards had mentioned you called yourself Dalandor. I just wanted to ask-" I quickly slammed my hand into the table as I could feel my blood pressure peaking, getting everyone nearby to jump a bit.

"Sorry don't mean to be rude, but is this guy gonna be here the whole time. If so could you tell him to get his damn eyes off me before I take them off him?" I growled out, flicking my eyes back to the source of my frustration.

Recovering quickly from the noise, the purple guard quickly got into a stance like he was preparing to leap over the table to me. Many of the other troops in the room look like they were ready to jump in as well... until Celestia raised her hoof.

"Please, settle down. Shining armor... could you please wait for me outside? The other guards shall stay here." At this request, he began to say something back to her I couldn't understand... until she shook her head, quieting him instantly. "But you're not Captain anymore, correct?"

Silence hung in the air for a few moments, until the pony apparently named Shining Armor turned to glare at me one last time... before giving a snort and heading back outside.

'Definitely a friend of Twilight, and already on his shit list...' I thought as I watched him leave, the door clicking shut behind him and leaving me alone with Celestia. 'This is already starting to feel like Stormwind all over again'

I rapped my fingers on the table, before looking back to Celestia and pointing to my necklace.

"So, how exactly does this work?" I asked tapping a finger on the sapphire hanging from my neck.

Motioning to the two necklaces, she began her explanation. "The enchantments imprinted on the gems inside allow communication between linked users. It's not telepathy... but more so that it bridges the meaning between similar words of different languages, to one you can comprehend." She finished with another sip of her tea, then a quick refill before leaving the pot on the table this time.

"What exactly did you use it for?" The question more or less slipped out, my curiosity of something new winning out over other possible questions.

Lifting her cup again, she answered almost immediately. "We use them to talk with ambassadors from other kingdoms." She stated simply, almost brushing it off.

Then I felt it, the small shiver that ran up my back whenever someone tried to deceive me... before gnawing at the back of my neck.

'Seems you're not as innocent as you let on' I thought as my mouth curled up into a half smile.

"Something like this, surely you’ve made use of it in… other applications?" I said with a low chuckle, causing her to freeze mid sip.

The expression on her face shifted quickly, from serene perfection to surprise as she set the cup down... a look of suspicion pointed right at me. "...how did you-"

“Call it a hunch.” I interrupted with a shrug as the pleasant smell of citrus and cinnamon reached my nose.

‘Has been a long time since I had some warm tea...’ Hesitating for a moment, I reached forward and grasped the teapot... before filling a cup of my own.

I brought it up to my lips, carefully blowing cool air at the scalding liquid before flicking my gaze back to the inquisitive pony. “So now I’m really curious... what are they used for?” I asked as I took a tentative sip of the tea.

Scanning me with her eyes, she slowly put the cup onto the table and cleared her throat. “...we used to use them to interrogate prisoners of war.” She finally admitted after a moment of pause.

“War?” I asked with a raised brow, “I suppose I had assumed wrong about you ponies. And to answer your question, I came from Azeroth.” I quickly answered, watching for her reaction.

To my disappointment, her confusion only grew. “Azeroth... I can’t say I’ve heard of that kingdom.” She paused, tapping her hoof on her chin, “And what had you assumed about us ponies exactly?” Celestia hummed with a questioning look.

Shrugging, I took another sip of the tea. “Almost every pony I’ve met so far has been petrified of just the sight of me. I just assumed you weren’t very used to conflict in general, however your recent actions had me questioning that theory.”

“‘Recent actions?’ Like what?” She asked curiously.

I motioned to the door, “The forest search. I have to say that was kind of overkill.” I stated getting her to nod a bit.

“While I agree it was perhaps a little drastic, we couldn’t take any chances.” She answered quickly, leaning her head back a bit as her eyes locked with mine. “After all, somepony had threatened a Princess of Equestria in her own home... speaking of home could you tell me more about this ‘Azeroth' you mentioned?”

Her question, however, went unanswered as I stared back at her... dumbstruck by what I’d heard. “...sorry could you run that by me again?”

A moment of silence reined between us until she finally started back up. “Azeroth, where you-“

Raising my hand, I cut her off quickly. “No. About Twilight. Did you say she’s a Princess?”

Suddenly, I started putting things together. The only ponies I’ve seen so far with both a horn and wings had been Twilight and Celestia... everyone else had one or the other, or neither.

"...yes. She’s a recently titled Princess of Equestria and was my personal pupil-“ I cut her off again, this time my voice raising in intensity.

“Are you insane?” I blurted out, my eyes wide.

This caught her off guard, as she recoiled a bit in her cushion. “I... I beg your pardon?”

Placing a hand on my forehead, my eyes scanned back and forth as I ran the scenarios through my mind. “This has to be a joke... It would have been so easy to-“

Cutting me off, Celestia spoke up in a volume equaling mine. “If this is some kind of attempt at a joke I don’t find it very humorous.” She finished, a hint of anger breaking through her motherly tone.

Narrowing my eyes at her, I leaned forward on the table as my blood pressure skyrocketed. “You’re telling me that a Princess... a brand new Princess at that, was left on her own unguarded? In a small village living inside a public library no less?!” I finished, the volume in my voice steadily rising as I spoke.

Shaking her head, she matched my volume. “While I appreciate your worries I can assure you she is more than safe here, Equestria has enjoyed it’s longest era of peace since-“

"Era of peace? You're kidding me? You hedged the safety of one of your Princesses on the bet that 'nothing bad usually happens anyway'? That's just asking to be assassinated." I spat, getting a look of displeasure from the Princess as her eyes narrowed at me.

"Twilight has very few enemies, and even fewer than that who could do her harm. I'm not sure where you come from, but Equestria's values are, and always will be, maintaining trust and friendship between our allies. Whoever they may be." She pulled her head back a bit at the end of her explanation, a small smile reappearing on her face.

I let out another short laugh, causing her expression to drop again. "So you're telling me, that even you don't have enemies of your own?"

A quick shake of her head, she placed her hoof on her chest. "I hardly see how that's related-"

“Enough," I cut her off, "let me tell you exactly why it's related.” An edge to my voice which silenced her but elicited a hard glare.

I was probably going to regret what I was about to say, but the sound of my heart pounding in my ears deafened me to reason at this point.

I placed both my fists on the table slowly, clenching them tightly as I leaned forward. “Do you know how easy it would have been?" I hissed, my tone quiet with a dangerous edge. "I could smell her from half a mile away just by her perfume, even her windows were unlocked. Imagine it Celestia, if someone was desperate enough to hurt you they would be willing to attack someone close to you. And how highly you speak of Twilight and mentioned she was your pupil... that puts her pretty high up on the hit list." I paused for a moment, and I could see her going through a variety of emotions as I spoke... the most prominent still being anger.

"So if for any reason you ever paint a target on your back, poor Twilight might be the one who gets hurt. Did you consider that?" I asked coldly, matching her hard stare.

Over the next moments, I watched her face closely. It was hard to tell, the emotionless mask she puts on being quite impressive, however I did see it for a moment.

Realization.

Giving a small smirk, I lifted two fingers and continued, "Twice I had the opportunity, first in the forest... then in her own home. Obviously... I didn't do it, but if that had been my intention that night... It would have been a breeze. Not so much as a single person would have ever known I was there, and no one would know what had befallen their Princess until the smell of rot carried itself down the road." I finished as I spat out those last couple words, my anger having finally hit it's peak and starting to recede.

Crossing my arms, my breathing slowly began to steady itself as I watched the Princess match my stare with a blank expression. Once my anger had subsided enough to think clearly again, I began to realize what I had just said... and more importantly who I said it to.

'I don't think scolding royalty was a good first impression' Reasoning finally broke through my thoughts as I watched the Princess take in a slow breath.

"You're right." She said simply.

I didn't show it, but this caught me off guard. I really expected to hear an execution order for that, especially from someone who doesn't know about my... anger problems.

"It could have been easy... and it shouldn't of, that I agree. However, that doesn't excuse you talking to royalty like that, and I shall remind you to watch your tongue going forward." She stated coldly as she leveled her gaze to mine.

I returned her look with silence for a few moments, before sighing. "...apologies, I meant no offence. I have a famously short temper."

She gave a small nod, as her horn lit up and magic enveloped her teacup, the liquid quickly starting to let off steam again.

"It is fine, I have a famously strong patience." She paused, sipping the tea, "However, be careful how you speak to the crown from now on. Especially around the guards... they can be a bit proud." At this, I took a peek at the guards around the room.

Many of them were looking at me disapprovingly. They couldn't understand what I was saying but even an idiot could deduce I was being disrespectful.

"Now... back to my other question." She added, motioning for me to continue.

Clearing my throat, I gave a small stretch. "Well, if you're wondering where Azeroth is... it wont be on any of your maps. Nor will you find one with it either." I explained, pulling my enchanted pouch from my waist and placing it on the table.

The princess watched me as I untied the string around the end of the bag, before reaching inside. I could see a look of curiosity on her face as my arm continued to go into the pouch, until it found it's target. Pulling my arm out, a long piece of parchment came out in my grasp.

I delicately placed the map on the table, before rolling it open. In an instant, her eyes lit up in wonder as she pulled herself closer. Scanning everything she could, I watched as her eyes darted all around the parchment.

"This, is 'Azeroth'?" She asked, looking to me only for a second as I gave a short nod. "...but there's so much. How is this possible... it cant be. Unless...?" Her breath hitched as she locked eyes with me again, suddenly standing from her pillow. "How did you get here?" She snapped, her tone shifting quickly.

"Unstable portal, collapsed mid conjuring." I stated flatly, raising an eyebrow at her change in demeanor. "And I'm assuming you figured this out, yes... I'm not of this planet. I'm surprised your purple friend didn't tell you that part as I'd already shown her the map."

Slowly, she lowered herself back onto her pillow. Her gaze however didn't release from me, a new level of seriousness about her.

"No, she didn't. When I arrived she was too shaken up to tell me exactly what happened. That's when I gave the order to search the forest, after all it's not every day something has the element of magic terrified into submission." She finished that sentence with a bit of edge.

I wasn’t sure why, but something about me being from another world had shifted the tone of the whole conversation. There was something else she wasn’t telling me, but this time I felt best to not pry further.

“So,” She started, having returned back to her calm demeanor, “Exactly what are you anyway?”

I knew this question was coming, and I hadn’t quite thought out how much I should tell her. Of course, I had to mention my worgen form as they probably already know about it by now.

I gave a small sigh as I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’m a human. Mostly. The rest is worgen.”

‘Though some would argue the opposite...’ The thought whispered in the back of my mind, but I kept it to myself.

Watching her eyes drift up and down my body, she gestured a hoof towards me. “And this form is the... human one correct?” She asked eliciting a nod from me, “And your other body, worgen? What's that?”

Sighing, I rapped my fingers against the table. “That’s a… hard subject. Lets just call it a curse which burdens only myself.” I assured with a nod.

She pondered my words in silence, until I brought up a question of my own that'd been on my mind. "So, you seemed quite surprised when I told you I wasn't from this world... why shouldn't it be possible?"

The question went unanswered for a while, as I could see the gears turning in her head.

'She's deciding how much to tell me... definitely not getting in her good books any time soon.'

"The veil." She stated, getting me to raise an eyebrow. "It's a cloak of energy that covers the planet, and provides magic to all life on Equis." Pausing for a moment, she takes in a steady breath. "Nothing should be able to journey through the veil. In or out, portal or not. It has always been that way, and yet here you are." She finishes motioning to me.

"I tried making a portal home, but it wouldn't even activate so I guess that's probably that Veil doing that?" I asked, getting a nod from her. "...well. I guess that settles that." I growled, slumping in place.

"...I am sorry. Truly. It cannot be easy to lose one's home, at least it will live on in your memories." She finished with a gentle smile, not knowing the irony behind that statement. "I appreciate your honesty today. Respect like that goes a long way with me, just... work on that temper of yours."

I didn't answer, and instead just sat in silence. This lasted for a while, until Sunshine's horn illuminated again, dragging the box that had contained the necklaces over to me.

"I know it's not much, but I want you to take this... think of it as a welcome to Equis present. It isn’t a lot considering what you’re going through... but it will help you get started." She finished as I took the box, her magic fading.

Before I could answer, a knock sounded off at the door grabbing both our attention. The same pony I'd seen before peeked inside, giving me a quick glare before looking to the princess and saying something I couldn’t understand.

"Oh, pardon me. It seems we're out of time." She states as she began stretching from her spot. "So, what will you do now? I must ask that you refrain from... killing any more hydras. Or, anything for that matter."

Rolling my eyes, I stood to my full height, my back popping as I did. "If something threatens me I'm not gonna hesitate to put it down. If you’re worried about me hurting any of your ponies... it shouldn’t be a problem unless one of them pick a fight with me. I prefer to be alone anyway so I won't bother them much.”

Letting out a small sigh, she shook her head a bit causing her ethereal mane to let out a quick ripple. "I had a feeling you were going to say that. However, perhaps what you need right now is a friend? I’m sure-“

Raising my hand up, I spoke up. “No friends.” I cut in quickly. “...sorry. I’ve seen too many lose friends and family alike, I’m far better off away from all that.”

Looking taken back by my answer, she shook her head while furrowing her eyebrows in worry. “That's a... depressing mentality Dalandor. Everypony could always use more friends.”

Ignoring her comment, I continued. "As to where I'm going... I'm not sure yet. I need some time to process this on my own, I didn't think when I left the bank that day I'd end up here... but I was planning on starting over that day anyway." This got a nod from Celestia, as her horn lit up and engulfed the jewelry around her neck.

"Oh, and if you plan on staying around Ponyville I suggest you make up with Twilight. The townsponies will be informed you’re not a threat, so please keep it that way." She finished with a small nod, which I returned.

With a small click the chain came off her neck and the warmth in my chest faded quickly. Following her lead, I unhooked the chain and pulled it off, setting it inside the box next to it’s twin Celestia had firmly slotted into place. Putting the box away into my pouch, I slung it back over my waist before following the Princess out. Stepping out into the daylight, I reflexively shield my eyes from the bright assault, before taking in the area around the town hall.

It seems ponies had started filtering inside the town once again, as I took in all the colors straining my eyes. It seems, even before the guards have given the green light, these equines are still too curious for their own good. It looked like the whole town had showed up, being kept at a comfortable distance by the guards who were still left over in the area.

I could feel every pair of eyes on me, scanning me up and down and soaking in every detail they could. I tried to keep the scowl from appearing on my face, and made a straight walk for the way out and back to the forest. The sooner I was alone to think the better.

'I'll handle Twilight... later' I growled in thought as I made my way to the nearest exit as quickly as possible.

Perspective: Celestia

I let out a long, drawn out sigh as my head drooped down a bit... the tiredness finally catching up with me. My eyes lazily scanned the rolling fields that passed outside my carriage window, as Canterlot mountain slowly edged closer. Memories of the soft bed which beckoned my name whispered in my mind. However, I knew getting any sleep was only wishful thinking on my part.

The last few days had been a nightmare, and I hadn't slept a wink during any of it. Contrary to popular belief about Alicorns, I did in fact need my beauty sleep! I had been hoping to have fixed this problem by now but during my conversation with that creature something had come up, something that couldn't wait.

Prince Shining had kindly reminded me that day court was coming up, which had allowed me to quickly break off my conversation with Dalandor... even if I was going to cancel court anyway.

'What a strange... human he called himself? He was certainly brave with how he spoke to me that's for sure.' I let out an annoyed snort, remembering when he had lectured me about how to protect my subjects.

'I think the part I hated most was how he was right' Which is probably the only reason I didn't feel the need to silence him when he spoke out of line like that.

There was one more thing that interested me about this human though... and it was his incredibly unique aura. Back at the edge of the Everfree when he approached me I saw his aura and it... confused me.

Alicorns have the special ability so see a beings unique aura that changes with their intensions or power. Whether it's due to our much stronger connection to the veil, or simply an ability only Alicorn species possessed, isn't entirely known. Due to the fact that this was a strict crown secret, no studies have ever been conducted to gleam it's true source.

And yet when I saw him coming towards me, and every muscle in my body wanted to give the order to arrest... I couldn't. His aura had caught me off guard... it was like nothing I'd ever seen. Emanating out from him was dark strands of blue energy, flowing away from him violently. However, just under that dark surface I could see it... even through everything that tried to obscure it.

A small shimmer of light, almost completely snuffed out by the surrounding darkness but defiantly pushing through anyway. That's when I realized, this creature had been the bearer of a terrible guilt... I had never seen the core of a being so utterly desecrated and couldn't help but pity him a bit.

My train of thought came to an end as the sound of wheels touching stone jostled me from my thoughts. A quick glance at the window confirmed I had landed in Canterlot at last. Straightening my neck once more, I gave a small stretch before getting to my hooves. As I did, the door next to me clicked open to reveal my guard escort.

Lifting his hoof up towards me, I lightly took it and stepped out of the carriage. I don't know when they started feeling like they had to do it... but if I didn't take their hoof I'd feel awful.

I blinked once at that thought, before sighing. 'Wow... I have gotten soft'

"Something the matter, Princess?" The guard asked me with a hint of worry in his voice.

"No, I'm alright." I answered with a small nod, "I'm just thinking is all. Could you please inform the ponies waiting at the throne that day court today has been 'Canceled Due To Unforeseen Circumstances'?"

The guard looked at me for a second, before nodding and giving a quick salute. Then he was gone, off to inform the soon to be angry nobles of their sudden cancellations.

I cringed a bit at the thought of the next court, but pushed that out of my mind quickly. For now I had a very certain goal in mind, and it had everything to do with that 'Human' down in Ponyville. More specifically... how he said he'd arrived here.

My hooves clicked on the carpet covered marble flooring as I made a quick pace through the castle halls. Obviously I knew the layout of the castle by heart, I was there when it was built after all. Before long, I made it to my destination... the ornate blue door quickly coming into view.

She'd only just gone to bed a couple hours ago after lowering the moon... but this couldn't wait. Gently, I pushed open the heavy door, casting a ray of light into the dark room. Across the darkened carpet I could see the slumbering form of Luna messily sprawled across her bed.

'Graceful' I chuckled to myself at her sleeping form.

As quietly as I could, I slipped through the opening before closing the door behind me with a soft click. Turning around, I gave a small snort of annoyance at the state of her room. Seems she once again just threw everything off and headed to bed, some things never change.

Shaking my head a bit with a small smile reaching my lips, I lit my horn up and focused on the scattered regalia on the floor. One by one, they all lift off the floor and stacked neatly on the dresser in her room, her small crown jeweled with midnight diamonds placed in the very center.

Cutting off my magic, I turned and made my way to her sleeping form. As carefully as I could, I climbed onto the bed and lay myself next to her... my hooves tucking in under me. Gently, I extended my right wing and brushed her awake.

"Sister." I whispered, getting her to stir and let out a groan of displeasure. "I'm sorry for the early wakeup... but this couldn't wait."

Luna flicked her eye open for a second, before snapping it shut and burying her head in the soft moon shaped pillow.

Luna let out a slow, quiet grumble into her pillow... before lifting her head up to me. "Yes. Sister?" She asked through grit teeth and sleepy eyes.

"I'm afraid this is complicated... you might want to get ready." I said sheepishly, eliciting another groan from Luna.

Quickly, and angrily, she crawled out of bed and stomped straight for the bathroom. "Five minutes." She stated coldly, before closing the door shut hard.

I felt a pang of guilt at that. I'd promised her I'd handle the situation myself so she could get some rest... we'd both been overworked the last few days and have gotten barely any time to relax. As much as it pained me, it was necessary. If this being, Dalandor, came through the veil... others can too.

Which means we're no longer safe from... them.

As my mind receded back to the stories my parents had told me, the bathroom door opened quickly and startled me back to reality. Standing in the doorway, was the slightly less disheveled form of Luna. Her mane was a bit wrinkled, and if you looked close enough you could plainly see the tiredness in her eyes. However, her coat was pristine and the feathers of her wings straight, albeit drooping slightly.

"Well, what is so important it couldn't wait?" She asked annoyed while crossing the room to the bed.

I paused for a moment as she got back onto the bed, tucking her legs under herself like I had as she let out a sigh.

"I met with the creature. The one in Ponyville." I started, getting a glance from Luna. "He called himself Dalandor."

"Strange name. What did you think of this creature?" She questioned, letting out a small yawn.

Tapping a hoof on my chin, I shook my head. "I... am not sure exactly. But I feel no evil coming from him... in a way. It was hard to explain how I felt, but that's not what I wanted to tell you." I paused, taking in a shaky breath. "Luna... do you remember what mother and father told us? About the veil?"

As soon as I mentioned them, her demeanor shifted quickly. All hints of tiredness gone, she lift her head up to full height and locked eyes with me.

"Of course, how could I forget?" She answered back quickly, her voice having taken on a new seriousness. "Did something change?"

I nodded slowly, eliciting a nervous flutter of Luna's wings. "This Dalandor... states he's from another world."

Luna just stared back at me with wide eyes, her mouth hanging slightly... until she blinked rapidly. "...do you believe him?"

"Yes." I stated quickly. "I could feel no deception in his aura, however it was quite unique. I can't help but feel we shouldn't be worried about him... something is telling me we should get him on our side."

Luna pondered what I said, looking deep in thought. "And the veil? Do you think somethings wrong with it? Maybe the heart?"

Sighing, I lowered my head. "I don't know Luna. Our parents didn't leave us much to go on... only some strange prophecy. Sometimes I wish they didn't have to go." I could feel my eyes water a bit as I said that.

I could feel a wing embrace me, before pulling me close. "I know. I do too... but it's up to us to make sure those stories they told us stay in the past."

Nodding slightly, I let out a shaky breath. "Remember how father explained them? The red skin and the burning green eyes?" I asked, getting a nod from Luna.

"He didn't speak of them much... but yes I remember."

"He looked nothing like that, his skin was very pale yes... but nothing like how father explained it. And his eyes were... normal, if a bit small." I recalled what he had looked like, keeping out details of his bloodstained platemail.

Suddenly, Luna rose from her spot and got off the bed as her horn began to glow. All her regalia I'd set on the dresser floated over to her body, as she expertly placed everything on at once.

"We should go and check the heart. Make sure nothings happened. After all, it's been a couple thousand years since we've been there." Luna stated nervously, walking towards the balcony of her room.

Pulling them open, she grimaced at the sunlight as it flooded the dark room. Following her into the archway, I brushed up against her side and nuzzled under her neck.

"I'm sorry Luna, I know I promised you I'd handle-" Before I could fully apologize, she cut me off with a lift of her hoof.

"If you want to make it up to me, stay quiet for the whole trip. This sun of yours is already giving me a horn-splitting headache." She grumbled out, as her wings spread and gave a mighty flap.

I watched her take off, before a small smirk appeared on my face as I was about to take off after her. However, I hesitated for a moment as a thought quickly resurfaced from my conversation earlier with Dalandor.

'A personal guard for Twilight...' I pondered for a couple seconds, until a certain guard came to mind.

Lighting up my horn, I materialized a small scroll and a quill. Jotting down a quick message, I gave a smile as it coiled up and disappeared in a flash. Giving a quick nod to no one in particular, I unfurled my wings and took off to where Luna was headed...

The Heart of Eternity...

Chapter 8: Of Potions and Ponies

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Chapter 8: Of Potions and Ponies

My body felt numb as I left the village, ignoring the stares digging into my back as I journeyed down the winding path. Arriving at the small cottage I'd discovered a couple days ago... I crouched next to the stream and took off, cleaned, and strapped back on my armor piece by piece.

My mind was devoid of thoughts as I washed my armor, cleaning off the remains of my past sins. After all, how was I supposed feel? Angry? Sad? Relieved? So many conflicting emotions raced through me I couldn’t help but feel lost.

Scrubbing particularly hard on a patch of dried blood on the pauldron currently in my hands, I froze at the sound of soft hoofsteps behind me. My breath only hitched for a moment, before I turned my gaze to meet another. The same yellow pegasus I'd seen before.

My tense muscles relaxed, 'This one couldn’t hurt me even if she tried' Remembering her feeble attempts at opening a birdfeed bag, I took my attention off her and continued to clean the armor off.

Silence reigned for a few moments as I sat there scrubbing furiously, trying to get a ray of silver to shine through the dark red blood until the soft clicks of hooves sounded behind me again. Doing my best to ignore the nearing sound, yellow peeked at the edge of my vision. Sparing a glance over, I saw her sitting on her haunches and looking at me with curiosity and worry... and maybe a hint of fear.

“Nus la verra?” She asked with a hushed voice, glancing at the blood covering my armor.

Rolling my eyes, I let out an annoyed groan. “Can’t understand you...”

She must have understood my tone because as soon as I finished her ears splayed back, as she began to hide behind her long pink mane. Ignoring her, I continued to clean my armor piece by piece, until my stomach let out a low grumble. Stopping my little wash cycle, I secured the piece back to myself and shifted my seating a bit so my legs were crossed. As I did, the equine sitting next to me gave a gentle flap of her wings and slowly hovered back to the cottage nearby.

Sighing in relief at being alone once more, I pulled out my pouch and untied the top before rummaging around for something to eat. One by one I pulled out the red apples I’d gotten from the farm, just as fresh as the moment they were placed inside. Tearing away at the apples, I sat back and just took in the area around me.

With the noise of flowing water pleasantly accompanied by the sound of birdsong, I found myself closing my eyes and leaning back a bit so my face was bathed in the suns warmth. For a moment, I could swear the ever present chill receded just a bit from the brief moment in the sun.

’Syrus would love this place...’ I couldn’t help but let my mind wander back to Azeroth, and my only friend I’d made there.

I could feel a swell of emotion in my chest, but as always it subsided quickly... replaced by an empty cold. Before I could enjoy the moment any longer, a certain smell pulled me from my thoughts.

Now, while the apples were pleasant for sure... I still needed some source of protein. Surviving on nothing but apples and greens won’t do... something I should probably have asked Celestia. That strange wyvern meat helped keep me going for a few days but I could feel my body growing sluggish, sustaining two forms does weigh on the body.

Slowly opening my eyes, I turned my gaze towards the source of the smell and took in a bizarre sight. For a moment, I was sure I was about to witness that poor yellow equine get mauled by a brown bear... but to my confusion something even stranger happened. The bear, after receiving a quick scratch under the jaw from the yellow pegasus, lowered it’s head and took two fish in his mouth before sauntering away.

Blinking a couple times at the sight, I pulled myself to my feet and brushed any loose dirt off me. Slowly I made my way over to the equine, trying my best not to scare her. One of her ears fluttered for a second, before she turned and locked eyes with me. I let out an annoyed grumble as she hid behind her mane anyway, pulling back a bit.

Rubbing my hands together, I thought about how to ask her as she watched me timidly. First, I point towards the bear as it walked away... then used my hands to mimic a swimming fish. She just stared at me, her eyes flicking back and forth from my hands to my face. I sighed again, this time a bit louder eliciting a small squeak from her.

Bending down to pony height, I made the swimming motion with my hand again before lifting one of my lips to reveal my teeth in as relaxed a manner as possible. In a flash her eyes lit up, a small gasp escaping her before she took off fast... faster than I’ve seen her move yet.

‘Well... either she understood me or thought I was going to eat her...’ I thought as I sat there awkwardly, watching her zip into the cottage.

After flying through the door and leaving it ajar, barely a moment later she came zooming back out with two fish in her mouth. Gracefully gliding over, she touched down just ahead of me before cautiously walking the last few feet. Stopping just before me, she dropped the fish from her mouth as her face scrunched up into disgust. She sputtered a couple times, trying to spit out the slimy taste presumably.

I couldn't help but let a small smile creep onto my features at the display, as she looked back up at me hesitantly. Reaching down slowly, she flinched as my fingers made contact with the top of her head. However, her surprise quickly devolved into a lazy smile as I gently scratched behind her ears.

‘You know what, I like this one’ I thought with a faint chuckle.

"Achoo!"

Suddenly, the small pegasus let out a tiny sneeze before shivering a bit. My smile dropped quickly as I pulled my hand away, getting her to blink a couple of times and look back to me... a small blush appearing on her face. Bending down, I picked up the fish and slid them into the pouch before looking back to her. She looked back at me shyly, her front hooves anxiously moving up and down a bit. With a moment of hesitation, I pushed a bit further into my pouch and plucked a few gold coins from inside. Giving them a small toss in my hand, getting them to clink together I looked back to the equine who now adorned a look of curiosity.

“Thanks Yellow.” I said, knowing she couldn’t understand me anyway.

Watching my movements carefully as I placed the coins in front of her, she slowly reached down and took one. Examining it closely for only a moment she quickly returned my gaze and shook her head, gesturing them back to me.

Waving her off, I made it clear I wasn’t taking them back. It wasn’t the currency they use but they must have considered gold at least valuable if the royalty wears it. Looking down hesitantly at the coins one last time, she brushed them into her hoof before sliding them into her mane.

Standing back to my full height, I began to make my way to the forest... mouth watering at the thought of fire roasted fish. Even if I only had simple spices on me. Taking a peek back, I could see her watching me leave before she gave a slow wave. Hesitantly I lifted my own hand, awkwardly waving back.

'Consider yourself in my good books Yellow' I thought with a nod, before locking my gaze ahead.

Leaves crunched underfoot as I made a steady pace through the forest with map in hand, heading for a landmark I came across when I first arrived here. That Zhevra's hut. I didn't feel quite ready to talk to more royalty today so... I figured my forest neighbor would be a good place to start.

'After all, don't want my throat slit in my sleep, safety first, food after' I reminded myself, pushing my hunger pains out of my head. 'Also.. she seems to have some kind of connection with the Purple Princess'

The trip was short and before I knew it I'd arrived at the hut, with the smell of something strange filling the air. The hut reminded me a lot of the village library, being built inside of a tree which seems to be the local favorite design choice besides sticks and hay.

Scanning the area, I couldn't see the zhevra around anywhere but knew it was here as a dim light shone from the window I'd peered into before. I wasn't sure why... but something felt off.

Quietly, I moved towards the hut... carefully stepping around scattered foliage and loose rocks. Coming up to the door, my eyes widened at what I saw. The front door's handle had been bent at an awkward angle, and deep gashes ran through the wood. My nose flared at the smell I now recognized, blood.

Slowly sliding my axe from it's holster, I creeped towards the door and pushed open a crack. Just inside, were two... griffons?

There was no mistaking it... these two were definitely griffons and exactly as I remembered it. However, their demeanor was different... more intelligent.

'Intelligent Griffons too? Weren't just for show on the map after all. Seems the races of these lands are just as varied as Azeroth's' I thought to myself as I squint my eyes trying to get a better look.

Both had a short sword on their waist, one reddened with blood as they both frantically searched the interior of the hut. They muttered incomprehensible words of anger to each other as I tried to get a better angle on the rest of the area.

In an instant my eyes locked with something severely contrasting the room around it... stripes of white and black sullied by crimson blood. Laying in the middle of the floor was the Zhevra I'd seen before, unmoving. I couldn't see her injury from here but I could see the growing pool of blood under her, and knew she didn't have long if she was still alive.

The two had since stopped bickering as the one with the bloody sword moved over towards the Zhevra, attempting to tie a rope around her hind legs. Seeing my chance, I slowly pushed the door in just enough to slip through. To my satisfaction the door didn't even squeak a bit which made my job all that much easier. Silently entering the hut, I quickly began striding towards the middle of the room and the hunched back of a griffon. My axe tightened in my grip, as I slowly lifted it over my head and readied my swing. He must have noticed something because I saw his feathers flutter for a second... before he turned around with a frozen expression.

He didn't even have time to register what he was looking at, before my axe struck his exposed neck and sliced through like butter. The bones didn't even resist... just cleaving right through.

'Hollow bones...' I could feel that sick satisfaction flood over me again at the display.

Blood gushed from the now headless corpse before crumpling to the ground, head rolling to a stop shortly after. I pulled my gaze to the other griffon, now at the back of the hut staring at me in surprise with bottles in his claws. In a flurry of movement, he pulled his sword free from it's holster as the the bottles crashed to the ground... multicolored liquid absorbing into the dirt. I could see him shaking from here, his eyes flicking between me and his headless companion hemorrhaging blood nearby.

He asked me a shaky question, I didn't even bother answering and instead raised my empty hand towards him. The temperature of the room dropped suddenly, as his eyes shrunk to pinpricks. Dropping his sword, he grasped onto his head and howled in agony, clawing feathers off his head trying to ease the biting cold in his brain.

The spell's effect quickly ended as his eyes shot open... however it was already too late. Having crossed the distance in a flash, I smacked the sword away with my axe before gripping his neck with my empty hand. His wings began to flap wildly, as his talons struck my breastplate but failed to do more than scratch it. Holding back the urge to bury my axe into him, I holstered it and clenched my hand into a tight fist.

Holding back a bit, I swung my arm around and clocked him right in the head... a loud crack sounding through the hut. His whole body fell limp, and for a moment I worried I'd still killed him... but quickly dismissed the thought at his slow labored breathing.

Loosening my grip, his body fell into a pile infront of me as I turned to the Zhevra I'd been coming to see in the first place. And that's when I saw her eyes were open and looking right at me in fear. She was still on her side, the body of a griffon laying right next to her... the pooling blood having turned the dirt around her a dark shade.

Across her chest, from the right leg to her left shoulder was an ugly gash which bled profusely.

'She's probably in shock, doesn't even know what's happening' I thought as I quickly dug into my pouch.

Fishing out the same herbs I used for my last potion, I grumbled angrily at my remaining stock. After retrieving the required ingredients I set to making a Runic Healing Potion, mixing together the reagents with practiced efficiency. I gave the swirling red vial in my hands but a glance before crouching down next to the Zhevra, who did nothing but lock her gaze on me.

Sitting on the damp red dirt, I slowly lift her head and placed it on my lap before gently tipping the vial into her mouth. It quickly poured down her throat, and I could hear her cough a couple times as it went down... burning like hellfire the whole way as she lay there trembling. As soon as it started, it stopped as her body quickly settled and she lay there motionless, eyes closed peacefully.

Lifting her up, I held her in my arms as I walked towards the bed I'd seen carved in the wall and lay her down on it gently. Noticing the rope still affixed to her hind legs, I untied it quickly before turning my gaze to the unconscious griffon... a small smile spreading across my features.

As quickly as I could before the griffon awoke, I dragged him outside and towards the nearest tree... before securing him against it. Scanning the area, it didn't take long to find something to sit on as I planted a small log just a few feet from him. Reaching into my pouch, I retrieved the box containing the magic necklaces Celestia was so kind to give me.

Clipping it around the griffons neck, I sat on the log and put the other on myself... before starting my wait. I didn't have to wait long, as the griffon began to stir in place before quickly devolving into a struggle upon realizing he's restrained.

"I wouldn't do that." I stated quickly, getting him to freeze and lock eyes with me.

I could see fear plain as day, before he scowled at me weakly in an attempt to look tough but was invalidated by his pummeled appearance. "V-vile creature! What manner of construct are you?" He asked struggling a bit more in his binds.

I could see the damage my single punch had caused now as I looked at his poor excuse for a threatening gaze. His right eye was completely swollen shut, and his beak was bent at an awkward angle... blood steadily dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"If you come loose from those knots you'll be seeing your friend faster than you can blink. Understand me bird?" I finished with a sharp growl, standing to my full height axe in hand.

The griffon reeled back quickly, shrinking into the tree. "N-no please! I d-didn't mean for a pony to get hurt I was just here f-for the potions."

Tilting my head a bit, I raised an eyebrow. "Were you now? The dying Zhevra in the hut says otherwise."

He looked at me in desperation. "S-she wasn't supposed to b-be here! That's what he told me!" He cried back, motioning to the hut with a wing. "I didn't know he was a poacher! It was supposed to be a quiet job!"

My fingers rapped against my axe handle as I kept my eyes on him, his own gaze nervously locked onto the tapping digits.

“Let me make something absolutely clear.” I warned, lifting my axe a bit eliciting a nervous gulp from him. “The way I see it, you have two options. Either when that Zhevra wakes up you’ll tell her to go get the guards from that village,“ I pause, motioning my axe in the correct direction. “Or, I’ll judge you myself. And I’m sure you’ve realized already but... my judgment is quick.”

He didn’t say anything, just wilted under my gaze. Moving away from him, I slowly backed up towards the hut before sparing a glance inside. The headless body of the other griffon was still laying there, but I could see the striped form of the Zhevra shuffling a bit in the bed. With a short nod to no-one, I made my way back over to the bound griffon who hadn’t moved an inch, watching me nervously.

Planting myself in the log across from him, I slowly slid my axe back into it’s holster and crossed my arms. I waited patiently, the only sound coming from the panicked griffon not daring to say a word as he nervously shuffled in place. Eventually, the sound of hooves slowly clicked behind me, pulling my attention back to the door and a very scared Zhevra.

I could see her recoil a bit from my stare, but otherwise not move. In one motion, I spun around and unsheathed my axe before pulling it close to his throat... a couple feathers slicing off from the brief contact.

“Well?” I asked, squinting my eyes.

Swallowing loudly, he flicked his eyes back to the hut. “P-please! Go get the g-guards!” He yelled to the zhevra behind me.

A few moments of silence ensued, until I could hear the sound of hooves galloping away. “Smart choice.” I said with a short nod.

Standing from my spot, he flinched as I reached my empty hand towards his neck... before unlatching the necklace and pulling it off. In an instant, the warmth faded from my chest once more as I slotted them away back into my pouch. The griffon sat petrified as I tied the pouch closed, before sitting back on the log and watching him intently.

Only a few minutes later I could hear the sound of multiple ponies coming my way, and from the increasingly panicked look of the griffon, he could too. He started fidgeting in place and frantically looked around for a way out, the reality of the moment finally setting in. It was too late, however, as a small group of golden armored guards broke into the clearing and skid to a stop at the scene.

I gave them but a short glance, before I stood and walked away from the bound griffon before leaning against a nearby tree. A moment later, the zhevra returned and frantically pointed at the griffon's tied up form. A couple quickly broke out of their stares and hesitantly moved to the griffon.

I watched in fascination as they bound his wings down with a piece of thread which wrapped around his barrel, before glowing dimly. The shaken griffon did little to fight them, and before long was trudging off towards the trio of guards which still hadn’t moved since they arrived. There was five total, only two had been brave enough so far to actually do anything. One of them hesitantly motioned towards me, and then turned to the zhevra asking something.

There was an awkward silence as her gaze locked with mine, before breaking away and shaking her head at the guard. Gesturing to the hut, one guard gingerly made their way to the aforementioned house. Giving me a wide berth, he made his way to the front door and nudged it open. In an instant, he reeled back and ran to the treeline... before emptying the contents of his stomach.

I gave a quick roll of my eyes, but kept my mouth shut. After all, it would just sound like unintelligible gibberish anyway. The green looking guard motioned to the hut as the rest gulped and closed the distance themselves... before having similar reactions.

As amusing as it was to watch a bunch of ponies get nauseous over a bit of blood, I didn’t let any of it show. Instead, I waited patiently as the guards filed in and out of the hut and cleaned the remains of my ‘fight’ from the area. Although I did give a small chuckle at the mortified look on a pony who carried out a small black bag in his magical grasp.

A couple of them looked at me hesitantly, like they wanted to approach me... but all kept their distance. After a couple hours of watching them talk amongst each other, and question the zhevra who couldn’t stop glancing over towards me... they finally departed.

As I watched them leave, I could see the zhevra watching me with uncertainty as she shuffled her hooves back and forth, until she asked me a shaky question and motioned towards her hut. I raised a brow at her as she slowly made her way to the battered door, motioning me to follow.

Kicking off the tree I’d been leaning against I followed her to the broken door, before bending down inside and really taking it in. The blood still stained the ground, and I hadn’t noticed it before but the cauldron that was here before when I had first arrived was gone. The body was gone too... along with it’s head. All around the area were various bottles and ingredients... along with the odd mask decoration. On the other side of the hut I could see the zhevra pouring something hot into two cups.

She said something else to me as she sat at a table, motioning to the seat across from her. In one swift movement, I pulled the chair back and plopped myself into it while retrieving the translators from my pouch. Quickly clicking one around my neck, I slid the box across the table to the zhevra.

Her eyes darted from me to the open box, before slowly sliding it to herself and examining it closely. I watched as she traced her hoof along the edge of the sapphire, before her eyes opened wide. Without any further hesitation, she yanked the necklace out and secured it around her neck. The moment it clicked in place, I felt that familiar warmth permeate my breastplate as I leaned back in my chair a bit.

“Feeling okay?” My voice echoed bluntly, eliciting a small twitch from her.

“...yes. I think I’m... okay, now.” She spoke hesitantly, like she was trying hard to get the words out.

I raised an eyebrow, motioning to her. “Are you sure? You’re not talking as well as I heard you before.”

Nodding a bit, she bit her lip with a look of intense concentration. “Yes... apologies. I cannot speak... how I normally would. Translation magic... not good at translating... my peoples dialect.”

"Why?" I asked, my curiosity already bumping its way into the conversation.

Thinking hard for a second, she squinted a bit as she spoke. "Words that rhyme in my language... might not in yours?"

I didn’t quite understand what she meant by that, or why rhymes had any importance in the matter... I gave a small nod anyway which seemed to satisfy her.

"You can read the runes on this?" I asked, tapping the necklace, getting a nod back.

I leaned forward, grasping the small cup and pulling it to my nose as the pleasant smell of ginger filled my senses.

“What did you... give me?” She asked as I took a tentative sip of the tea, before raising a brow at her.

“You mean the potion?” I asked getting her to nod quickly. “It was a Healing Potion, specifically a Runic Healing Potion." She tilted her head at what I said, but before she could speak her mind I continued. "That can wait, I feel like we should address this first." I emphasized towards the large splotch of drying blood in the middle of the room.

The zhevra grimaced and lowered her head, ears splaying back. "Poachers..."

I cursed under my breath and could feel my blood start to boil.

'They were going to eat her! I was holding out hope till now it had been a mistranslation, but to hunt and feed on another intelligent being... decapitation was far to kind an end for that creature' My inner voice fumed in rage as I closed my eyes, slowly controlling my breathing.

Despite my best efforts I could feel my anger swelling. 'I shouldn't of let that griffon go' A dark voice ebbed at the back of my mind. 'I could shift, It's been long enough.. he deserves it' The temptation tugged at my will as my eyes began to scan for the quickest way out. 'Should still be in the village being processed...'

"So..." A voice snapped me from my thoughts as I locked eyes with the Zhevra again. "That potion you gave me... you said it was a Healing Potion?"

At her question, I blinked a couple times before I noticed my hand had slowly dropped to grip the hanging axe on my waist. Quickly pulling my hand away... I support myself on my elbows at the table, my hands curling under my chin.

"Correct, a Runic Healing Potion... you have those here correct? The griffon had mentioned them.” I answered her question, the distraction quickly pulling me back to clear thoughts.

She nodded eagerly, “Oh yes, we do. But... I’ve never heard of a Healing Potion before, or a Runic Healing Potion... whatever the difference is.” She paused for a moment, lining up her thoughts, “Crop growth potions and maybe medicinal potions for the cold but... to purify a potion to the point of potent healing has never been done before!”

‘Crop growth?’ My curiosity peaked at that, but I held back my interest for now.

"There's not much purifying to do, just mix the herbs in under the right heat... and the right vial. That's important." I stated, planting my pouch onto the table.

This seemed to catch her attention as her eyes locked onto the container. Ignoring her stare I untied the top of the pouch, before reaching far into the bag and retrieving a few examples.

Pulling out a couple herbs, I saw her eyes light up at the sight of them. "Goldclover," I said placing the first herb, a small golden clover, in the center of the table. "Icethorn," I continued, placing another herb next to it... this one looked like a piece of curled ice but with the texture of grass.

Finally, I set down a small empty vial next to the herbs. "And an imbued vial, equally as important as the herbs. The vials have varying amounts of magic stored in the glass which is released when you seal and swirl them, of course you need the correct ingredients and the right spell-matrix in mind. Thus, causing a magical reaction creating the potion you want." Finishing my explanation I brought my eyes back up to a dumbstruck look. "Did you catch that or do I have to repeat it?" I asked eliciting a quick shake of the head.

"No! It's just... genius! We've never thought about... enchanting the vials. This could change everything!" I could see her smiling with excitement. "Could you teach me?"

Raising a hand, I quickly shot her down. "Hold on Zhevra, I don't do apprentices. I don't even know your name yet."

This seemed to deflate her a bit, but she didn't let it show long before a small smile spread across her face. "I'm sorry, my name is Zecora. And I'm not a... 'Zeevrah', I'm a Zebra." She paused, reaching a hoof across the table. "And... thank you for saving my life."

I looked at her hoof for a moment, before slowly reaching across and grasping firmly. "Dalandor, and its fine. There's a difference between hunting and murder." I finished with a quick shake, before letting go.

As I pulled away, I could see a look of sadness cross her features. "Zebra and Griffons have a long and dark history. You'd be surprised how much one is willing to pay for black market zebra meat... even in Equestria." That final line held an enormous weight, that much I could tell from her pained expression. "I'm glad you showed up when you did." She added, forcing out a sad smile.

"I see..." I said slowly with a small nod, before gathering up the examples I'd placed out. "I'm sorry that happened but, I must admit the reason I showed up tonight and helped you was by a spur of the moment decision... nothing more. You're lucky to be alive." I stated bluntly, securing a cord around the pouch.

I could see her eyes flick from the pouch to me again, before she slid her cup out of the way and leaned on the table. "Please... I request you teach me more about this alchemy. Such sources of knowledge are few and far in-between, I will give you anything!"

My eyes opened in surprise, looking at the begging form of a... zebra in front of me. Blinking a few times, I let out a groan as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"I... don't do apprentices. I only came here tonight to learn how to deal with Twilight since you're the only other pony I'd seen her with." The hint of annoyance apparent in my voice.

However she just tilted her head towards me, confusion obvious across her features. "Twilight? But when...?" She paused for a moment, trying to recall something.

Raising an eyebrow at her, I motioned to my body. "I lose a little hair and you don't recognize me? Recognize the armor?"

A few quiet moments went by as her eyes scanned me up and down, until a grim realization took over her features. "Y-you're the beast..." Her voice quivered a bit as I let out an annoyed growl. "You-"

"Hey!" I cut her off quickly, causing her to flinch. "Don't see me calling you an animal do you? Watch your tongue." I warned, pointing a finger at her. "I apologize for my previous appearance. I'd just arrived and you were one of the first things I'd seen, I usually try to stay human unless I have to."

Nodding slowly, she quickly calmed down. "While I don't quite understand what all of that means, I apologize for my language. I meant no offence." Tapping her hoof a couple times on the table, she perked up again. "What do you mean... just arrived?"

Rolling my eyes, I let out a sigh. "I guess to you, I'm an alien." I stated bluntly, getting a mix of looks from her. "Which is also why I'm not teaching you anything. I'm limited on supplies from my home, specifically the herbs."

The shock was still fresh on her features, but she shook her head and composed herself enough to talk. "A-Alien?! I... can't you just plant more?"

"Yes I am." I said simply, "And no, I cant." I continued, shaking my head. "Azerothian Herbs require extremely specific environments to grow. Even the best gnomish tech available couldn't replicate the growing process... but I heard some goblins were getting close..." My explanation slowly trailed off as I receded back into thought for a moment, before snapping back to reality and locking my gaze with a confused stare. "...what?"

"Couldn't you just... use a potion to replicate it's environment in the soil? Ponies do it all the time." Her answer caused my hopes to rise quickly.

Leaning forward on the table, I readjusted my seating so I could get a little closer. "You have potions that can do that?!"

Taken aback a bit by my change in volume, she hesitated for a moment before nodding quickly. "Y-yes. Like I said, almost all our potions are used as practical applications in farming and very simple medicine."

Slumping back into my chair, I scratched at my chin in thought.

'They do have potions here but... while all of Azeroth's breakthroughs are centered around combat, these ponies have branched out just as far in the opposite direction of alchemy' I couldn't help but have a smile spread across my face.

"Tell you what." I started, getting her ears to flick to me. "I'll do it." At those words, her eyes shot open and I could see her take in a sharp breath. "On three conditions." I continued, pulling her attention again.

Lifting up one finger at a time I began, "One, you refer to me as Dalandor or Master, but never the latter when we're not in a lesson. Two, show me how to make this 'Farming Potion' you mentioned, and three..." I paused for emphasis, lifting a third finger, "Teach me your language. This thing wont be practical in the long run." I finished with an annoyed groan, tapping on the offending amulet on my chest.

The air was thick in silence as Zecora thought hard on the offer, before steeling her resolve with a nod.

"I accept."

Chapter 9: Encroaching Nightmares

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I wanted to start this chapter with a thank you. As of today... the 30th of July 2021, the story has officially made it to the featured box. I can't say how happy I am to see this, and can't wait to show you all what I have in store. I won't spoil anything of course... but be ready for a wild ride!

Chapter 9: Encroaching Nightmares

Shortly after our agreement, we talked a bit about scheduling. I let slip I wasn't technically living anywhere and before I could backtrack she was offering for me to stay here! Of course... I refused, but that didn't stop her from making me stay the night.

However right now, I found myself locked in a glaring match with the Zebra across from me.

"No." I stated from the stool I was sitting on, arms crossed.

"If you're going to be staying here for any length of time you will clean yourself." Zecora sternly replied, getting another huff from me.

'I'd just had a bath a little over a week ago! It's not like I smelled that bad... right?'

When I thought she wasn't looking, I took a small sniff under my arm and cringed in disgust. Turns out three days of blood and sweat does start to reek a little, and I let out a gravely sigh as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Okay, fine. I'll use this shower of yours." I surrendered, eliciting a smug smile from the Zebra.

Holding the smile, she motioned to a door at the back of her hut which I hadn't noticed yet. Hesitating for a second as I looked between the two, I groaned and stood from my seat. Ignoring her stare I said nothing as I passed her, unlatching the amulet from my neck and quickly sliding into the bathroom. Part of me dreaded what I was about to walk into... seeing the plumbing in Stormwind I could only imagine the infrastructure these ponies had.

However, my worry was unfounded as I took in the scene. The bathroom was... pretty different I guess would be the way to explain it. The toilet was a hole in the ground... that I had expected, with them being ponies and all a seat wouldn't really work.

My eyes focused on one peculiar sight however... floating above the ceramic bathtub. I felt my jaw open a bit as my eyes widened, not believing what my senses were telling me. There, floating high above the tub was an actual cloud. Hesitantly, I moved towards it and poked it with my finger and was surprised to feel nothing. Well not really nothing... some moisture stuck to my finger, but nothing more.

I scratched my chin a bit at the sight, before examining the rest of the tub and locking onto a set of dials. Looking between the two, I turned the red dial a couple times as a low rumble reached my ears. Suddenly, the raincloud began to darken and let out a steady torrent of rain which produced a warm mist.

I blinked a couple times at the sight, and couldn't help but smile a bit. However I quickly wiped the emotion off and shook my head to clear my thoughts, before stripping down my armor. As I jumped into the shower I worked off all the evidence of the last few days, however It took a couple reapplications of shampoo to get the water to start coming out clear.

I didn't even bother touching the cold dial, just spinning the red dial as far as It would go. The feeling hurt, a bit. But I still found myself enjoying it, in a strange nostalgic way. I leaned against the wall of the shower, letting the rain pummel my back as I closed my eyes.

'Nostalgic...' I thought mockingly to myself. 'How can I be nostalgic of something I can't even remember?'

I don't know how long I sat there as the hot water scorched my back. Once it started to border the line of unbearable I finally relented and shut the water off. My body quickly returned back to it's cold temperature, despite still dripping with warm water.

I wasted no time drying myself but decided to store away my armor, electing for just my white shirt and grey pants. The clothing was starting to get worn, not to mention the fact the shirt had a huge tear in the middle from when I was stabbed.

Leaning down at the sink and leveling my gaze with the mirror, I pulled myself closer to get a look. I'd barely changed one bit since I woke up in Ebon Hold. My eyes were back to their normal brown, but that was about the only color I had on me. My skin was pale, almost white as my eyes seemed to be sunken just a bit. No beard, not so much as a single hair out of place on my face.

For the last two years of my life I'd never grown any facial hair at all, as if all of the hair follicles themselves died but were never revived with me. Giving a short sigh, I pulled away from the mirror and gathered up my stuff... before clicking the amulet back on. No warmth radiated from the jewelry, meaning Zecora must have taken it off.

Pushing firmly against the door, it squeaked open as cool air flowed in from the next room. By now, the sunlight outside had dimmed considerably and some candles had been lit inside the hut. A gentle glow embraced the interior, dark lines danced off hanging objects... casting small shadows around the room from the flickering candlelight. The large splotch of blood in the center of the room had been cleaned up, replaced by fresh dirt.

I heard a faint click which pulled my attention to the table I'd been at as Zecora clicked the amulet back around her neck.

"I hope you don't mind but I was wondering if we could start a bit now..." She asked with a nervous smile as she motioned in-front of her.

Turning my gaze, spread out across the table were multiple open notebooks and some quills. Sparing a look inside my pouch, I hummed to myself as I browsed my available herbs. Settling on some of the simpler ones I had, I pulled them from the pouch and made my way to the table... before setting them down next to her.

"Peacebloom," I pointed to the herb which resembled a daisy, "Silverleaf," my hand moved to the other, a long jagged leaf which looked green but had a silver sheen. "Elementary level herbs. If you want to learn Azerothian Alchemy, you need to start from the beginning. From what you've told me you don't use Spell Matrices when mixing potions, correct?" I asked, raising a brow at her.

Zecora, who was furiously scribbling notes into her book, tore her gaze away and blinked at me once before nodding. "Yes. The process of making Equestrian potions is a lot of work. Each herb must be purified separately before being mixed and boiled. There is no... "Spell Matrix" involved."

I scratched my chin, before motioning her to move over. Quickly scooting her chair over a bit, she watched me curiously as I slid her notebook over and flipped to a blank page.

Grabbing an unused quill, I looked back to the Zebra. "I'm not sure how magic works here, but this is how we understand it in Azeroth," I began as I tapped the quill on my chin. "There are many fundamental forces of magic that can be manipulated in the process of alchemy. The only type of magic I want you to worry about right now is Nature, the others can be explained another day. Nature is the opposite of necromantic magic, making up the second known force called Life and Death."

I paused as I dipped the quill in the inkwell before brandishing it towards the parchment. "I'm going to draw the Spell Matrix for a minor healing potion. These are mostly used for children, pets, or to heal small cuts and abrasions." I explained as I scribbled down a simple diagram of circles and triangles.

As I finished the Matrix, I slid the book back to the Zebra who started studying it with gusto. As she memorized the image, I reached into my bag and pulled out a simple crystal vial which was already filled with fresh water.

"Memorize every line, and when you feel like you've got it tell me and we'll move on." I ordered, getting no answer as her focus was entirely on the page.

As I set up my crystal powered vial heater, I got a small tap on my shoulder. "I think I've got it. Now what?"

Turning my attention back to her, I motioned to what I had set up so far. The vial boiler was small, and could only fit one vial at a time which was currently in use. It hung the vial suspended over a small pink crystal which glowed softly.

"Once the water starts to simmer, but not boil, mix in the herbs you're using and push the cork down." I instructed, motioning for emphasis. "When you stamp the seal on, you need to have a clear image of the Spell Matrix you're using. If the Matrix is incomplete, when you swirl the potion and release the latent magic in the glass the potion will fail to conjure... and your herbs will have been wasted."

She slowly nodded, her tongue sticking out a bit as she scribbled down everything I said in her horse language. "I... think I understand." She finally said after a bit of hesitation.

"Good. Because it's time to try." I stated simply, pushing a small bowl and the herbs towards her. "Oh, and don't worry. Failed potion crafting isn't that dangerous... usually."

She looked back at me for a moment with wide eyes, before swallowing and hardening her gaze. Taking the bowl, she took the herbs and ground them together. Handling the boiler myself, I showed her how to enable the heating process with a simple demonstration.

Before long, the water in the vial began to bubble a bit, nearing a boil.

"Now?" She asked, eyeing me nervously.

I just shrugged, getting a nervous whimper from her. I watched the bubbles forming in the vial slowly start to rise and bubble to the top, and was nearing the point of boiling when she finally dumped the ground herbs in. I watched her hesitate for a second, before stamping down the cork and sealing it shut.

The crystal quickly shut off and stopped radiating heat, and I smiled to her. "So far so good. Now for the last part, this depends on how clear your recollection of the Spell Matrix was." Pausing for a second, I pointed to the vial. "Pick it up, don't worry it wont be hot. Give it a quick swirl... if you got it right it should turn red. If not... well we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

I watched her hesitantly reach for the vial, flinching a bit when it made contact with her hoof. She quickly relaxed, before pulling it up out of it's suspended slot and sparing one last glance to me. Holding her breath, she gave the potion a quick swirl.

The small ground up flower inside the water spun around the vial, before millions of red sparks swirled around inside and clouded the whole thing. Zecora watched in wonder as the liquid quickly turned crimson, perpetually spinning in the vial.

"Congratulations!" I stated with a clap. "You just made your first Azerothian Potion."

Zecora snapped from her state and looked at me, a huge smile adorning her face. Before I could react, I found her latched around my barrel... my whole body freezing up at the contact.

"Thank you for teaching me this. I've searched far and wide for other ponies who practiced the art of alchemy." Pausing a moment, she let out a small sigh. "I had no idea so much more was out there..."

Silence reigned for a few moments as I shifted uncomfortably in her grip. At my movement, she pulled away quickly and gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry... pony habit. Twilight and her friends have rubbed off on me it seems." She admitted as she rubbed one of her forelegs.

Moving away from the table, I turned towards the rest of the hut. "It's... fine. I'm not used to physical contact, and I'd prefer to keep it to a minimum." I stated coldly, getting her ears to splay back a bit as she nodded.

We didn't really say anything the rest of the evening, which was fine by me. Zecora looked like she wanted to ask me something, but I had already taken the amulet off and was settling in my makeshift sleeping bag. It was really just a couple blankets folded in half on the wooden floor near her bed. Halfway into the hut the ground transformed from dirt to wooden planks... probably to make cleaning the cauldron pit easier.

I lay there in the dark, the sun having fully passed the horizon by now and blanketing the world in starlight. Though, nearby I could still see the Zebra sneaking peeks at me from her bed. I wasn't sure if she knew I could see her or not, but I could feel her stare regardless. Giving an annoyed growl, I pulled out the amulets and tossed one over to her.

She let out a surprised yelp as the item landed on her blanket, before she hesitantly clicked it on.

"What." I stated annoyed, getting her to shuffle a bit in bed.

"Are you cold?" She asked innocently, getting my breath to hitch.

"..." I didn't speak at first, thinking about how to answer. "...why do you ask."

"When I hugged you... you felt cold." She started, pausing for a second. "I'm just wondering... is that normal?"

I waited another long time before answering. "...for me, yes. Just leave it at that."

Silence reigned in the dark room again, before she clicked the necklace off and gently placed it on the ground next to her bed. I didn't even bother getting up for it, and just rolled onto my side... pushing down the feelings welling up in my chest. It didn't take long before the empty, ever hungering cold filled me once again.

I found myself staring at the dark ceiling of the hut for most of the night, the moonlight slowly crawling across the room. My mind wandered back to the conversation I had with Celestia, something wasn't right about the explanation she gave me. This "Veil" didn't make sense, such a thing shouldn't be required to harness the power of magic. Such a force permeated the entire universe and existed in all things.

What annoyed me most was the explanation Celestia gave did seem completely genuine, and even with my unnatural abilities I felt no deceit. The only two explanations I could surmise is, either she is the greatest liar I've ever met... or she truly believed the veil is what provides magic to the world. Considering I'd called her out for lying once already... I suspected it must be the latter.

Many thoughts and future plans danced through my mind, until my steadily rising exhaustion finally caught up to me. Before long I found myself tumbling back into my nightmare filled dreamscape once more.

An inky darkness spanned out in all directions for what seemed an eternity as I lay there, suspended in nothing and staring into the void. The silence seemed to get louder and louder, filling the empty space with a deafening quiet.

"My power was drawn here... and yet there is nothing?"

A whisper broke the silence as I held my breath, focusing hard for any other voices. A long time passed... at least it felt like it. Every now and then I could feel a cold wave ripple over me, making me shiver.

"Who are you?"

This time, it was far behind me... distant, as if it was talking to me through a small hole. I tried to spin around despite my weightless form, but succeeded only in struggling.

"Your essence... is familiar"

Another whisper pierced the silence, much closer this time. A chill spread up my spine and I could feel eyes on the back of my neck.

"You shouldn't be alive..."

A feeling of dread overtook me at the familiar voice, it's tone deep and echoing. My heart was pounding and I swear I could feel a sheen of sweat covering my whole body. A cold breeze brushed down my shoulder, and the presence appeared directly behind me.

"Show me how."

A searing cold shot through my mind, and I could see a torrent of memories wash over me... all starting from when I awoke in Ebon Hold. I couldn't focus on any of the flashing images as I gripped my head, twitching in pain. Opening my mouth I tried to scream... however no sound reached my ears.

Suddenly, an icy sensation washed over my whole body as my attempts at screaming quickly devolved into sputtering coughs.

In an instant my eyes flew open and I gasped for air as I flew off the ground, breathing heavily. Taking in quick ragged breaths, my eyes shot around the room in a frenzy taking in all I could. Blinking a few times, my mind finally began to catch up with me and I slowly relaxed.

Just ahead of me was Zecora, watching me with concern. She had an empty pot in her hooves and a wet puddle infront of her. As I looked at her, she quickly dropped the pot and clicked the amulet back on as a warmth radiated from the one I never took off last night.

"I did not ask for a wakeup call." I growled angrily, getting her to shy away a bit.

"I couldn't wake you up! And when you started screaming I panicked..." She clicked her two front hooves together.

Walking away from her, I stripped off my shirt and quickly wringed it dry into the dirt below. "...apologies, I usually just wake up when I have a nightmare." I stated as I pulled the damp shirt back on.

"Must have been a pretty bad nightmare to react like that. Did you want to talk about it?" Zecora asked with a tilt of her head. "Friends share their dreams all the time."

As she said it I cringed a bit, before turning to face her. "For one, I don't usually remember my dreams. And two..." I paused, pointing right at her. "Listen, you're a fine... Zebra and all... but we're not friends. More like acquaintances."

As I said this, I could see her visibly deflate. "Oh... okay..." She mumbled out, looking away from me.

I ignored her hurt expression and took a look outside, trying to get over the strange feeling of dread which hadn't gone away since I awoke. The sun was slowly pulling up over the horizon, small beams of light broke through the trees and dotted the area outside the hut.

Taking a look down at my clothes, I couldn't help but cringe at their state. If I really was stuck here I was going to need some kind of replacements.

"Does the nearby village have a tailor? Or even a blacksmith?" I asked, getting the attention of the moping Zebra.

This seemed to snap her from her thoughts as she turned to meet my stare, before scratching her chin in thought. "Well... there is Rarity. She's a dress designer but I suppose she'd fit the bill as a tailor."

'A pony dress designer? Preferably not' I shook my head at the thought.

"Anyone else?" I asked hopefully.

Squinting her eyes a bit, she gave a small shrug. "I'm sorry but I don't know. I'm sure if you asked one of the locals of the village they could help point you towards a blacksmith."

Sighing in annoyance, I made my way to the nearby table and took ahold of a quill and parchment. I quickly drew out two new Spell Matrices, very simple ones to be exact.

"I'm writing down the Matrices for two more recipes, I want you to have them memorized by the time I get back. I'll explain what they do when I return." I stated as I put the finishing touch on the last page, before setting down the quill and collecting my other amulet from Zecora.

After putting them both away, I made my way to the entrance and pulled it open before freezing in place. Just on the other side of the open door, sat Twilight... her eyes having opened wide as she stared back at me in shock. The tension remained in the quiet air for what felt like ages, only the occasional birdsong breaking through from the early morning atmosphere.

Quickly recovering from my shock, I stepped aside and motioned inside. "Twilight." I said with a nod.

A flurry of reactions played out from the small equine. First her eyes shrunk to pinpricks as her wings fluttered, before she let out a small gulp and nodded quickly. With her ears splayed back, she hurriedly moved past me and into the hut. Wasting no time, I flew out the door and pulled it close behind me.

Whatever she was here for... I didn't need to know.

Sparing a glance back at the hut, I shook my head and began my way through the forest and towards the village.

'This "Rarity" had better not try and dress me up, if she knows what's good for her' I thought to myself as I trudged along the dirt path through the twisting trees.

Chapter 10: Fundamentals

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Chapter 10: Fundamentals

Perspective: Zecora

As I watched Twilight scurry past Dalandor he quickly pulled the door shut behind him. The noise startled her, electing a small squeak as her tail tucked between her legs. A couple moments of silence went by as she stared at the door, before she snapped her attention back to me with a manic look.

"I heard what happened and came by to see if you're okay! What's it still doing here?!" She hissed, prancing in place.

I raised a brow as I took in her demeanor, this wasn't a side of Twilight I've seen before. "I'm alright... in fact he saved my life. And if you must know I actually let him stay the night."

As I spoke she took on a look of bewilderment, before shaking her head and pointing to the door. "Zecora, remember that... thing that showed up at the hut a couple days ago? That was him! It even killed a hydra Zecora!"

My brow furrowed in frustration as I processed the new information. I'd already known that Lupine beast was him but... he killed a hydra?

This time it was my turn to be surprised. "A hydra? Surly not." I dismissed with a wave.

'I'd seen him knock out that griffon like it was nothing... but nopony can slay a hydra in single combat, except maybe the Princesses...'

"Zecora." Twilight stated seriously, putting her hooves on my shoulders and looking me in the eyes. "I saw the heart after it left. It brought it back as proof."

I could feel a sinking feeling in my gut, this Dalandor actually killed a hydra by himself... and he just spent the night in my house!

"Did he do something to you? Why aren't you rhyming?" Twilight asked as she shook me a bit.

Blinking a couple times I looked at her with confusion.

'I haven't been rhyming this whole time?'

Sighing, I rubbed my hoof on my forehead. "I hadn't noticed... I've been speaking like this for a couple days and it's hard to keep switching."

"Switching? Why would you be switching?" Twilight asked as she let go of my shoulders and moved over to the nearby table.

Moving with her, I was too late to stop her as she scanned the papers on the table. "Because he can't understand our language so he uses a translator." I started quickly as I placed a hoof on the spell matrix she currently was studying. "And I ask that you don't read any of that. I'm not sure how many ponies he wants to share it with yet."

As I said this, Twilight quickly perked up as she focused on my hoof... as if thinking if she stared hard enough she would see through it. "Share what? Is it what's on that paper? Is it dangerous?"

Shaking my head, I bit my lip as I tried to figure out how to explain it without offending her. "Twilight, I'm sorry but if you want to know about it you'll have to ask him. If I tried to explain this magic myself it might cause serious harm."

This seemed to be the wrong thing to say, as her pupils widened at the mention of magic. "Magic? Is that what that strange rune was? It didn't look like it made sense..." She rambled, horn igniting.

The sheet began to glow, quickly sliding out from my hoof and rising off the table. "Twilight!" I snapped, getting her to go quiet and look at me.

Reaching up, I pushed the page back onto the table before stacking them all up and sliding them into my notebook, closing it tight. Pushing the book away, I looked back to Twilight who had a nervous expression.

"I know the idea of new magic excites you." I began, Twilight watching me as I spoke. "However," I paused getting her to shift a bit, "This is not mine to give. If you want to learn, ask him yourself. He actually took me as an apprentice." I finished with a smug smile.

Twilight's mouth opened and closed a few times, as she fidgeted and looked around... before letting out a defeated sigh.

"Fine... I'll wait." She stated grumpily, plopping herself on the nearby stool. "But you have to tell me something. Anything!"

Scratching my chin, I felt an idea pop in my head as I retrieved the potion I'd made. He wouldn't be upset if I shared something I'd made myself... right? No, of course not.

"Well..." I began, pulling out the small red vial and gingerly placing it on the table. "How about this?" As I set it down, Twilights gaze locked onto it as she raised a brow.

"A potion?" She questioned, her horn lighting up and bringing it closer to her. "How is this... wait. What... is... this?" She asked slowly, watching the perpetually swirling crimson liquid inside. "What is this?!" She said again, louder this time as she popped the cork off and took out a drop of liquid suspended in magic. "What is this?!"

Recorking the vial and setting it on the table, she started pacing around the room as her eyes remained fixated on the small red droplet in her magical grasp. "This is amazing is what it is! I'm detecting 100% magical purity! It's runic blueprint is so advanced I can't even decipher it!" She exclaimed, starting to hyperventilate. "Zecora, where did you get this?!" She asked, turning to me with wild eyes.

"I made it." I stated simply, getting her jaw to drop.

"You made it?!" She repeated, getting a quick nod from me.

"...what does it do?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

Tapping my chin, I recalled what he'd told me about the potion. "He said it's called a 'Minor Healing Potion', for 'Pets, Small Cuts and Abrasions'. It's one of the most basic potions from what he's told me."

"Minor? Basic?!" Twilight exclaimed, her voice cracking a bit.

I just quickly nodded, eliciting a small giggle from her as I swear I could see her start vibrating in place.

'I think it might have been poor judgment to tell Twilight this...'

Perspective: Dalandor

During my walk through the forest something had occurred to me... I had no idea what this Rarity looked like, or where she was in town. However, the thought of going back was quickly shaken from my mind. I didn't need to, I could wait until Twilight was done her... visit.

Instead I had a new destination in mind as I neared the end of this depressing forest. Yellow's house quickly came into view, and I couldn’t see her outside this time. The area was alive with early morning birdsong, as small critters scrambled about around the small cottage.

Quickly making my way across the field, I arrived at the bridge spanning the tiny stream. Pausing at the top, I did a quick scan of the area and still saw no-one. Shrugging, I closed the rest of the distance to the front door... noticing it’s small stature even more up close.

As I leaned down to the tiny door I froze as a sound met my ears. Slowly standing, I focused more on the noise, a gentle tapping, coming from behind the cottage. Following the sound, I circled around the right wall around to the back and found it's source. My eyes locked onto the floating form of the yellow equine I'd seen before as she hovered off the ground, hammering a nail into the trunk of a tree.

'Not sure I'd even call that hammering...' I mused as I watched her efforts to drive in the nail, spotting a waiting to be hung birdhouse on the ground as I did.

Putting my hands on my waist, I whistled to get her attention.

"Eek!" With a sudden flap of her wings, she disappeared into the treetop's leaves.

Rolling my eyes, I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the reaction.

'Certainly a timid one' I squinted at the tree, trying to see where she had hid herself.

The sound of rustling leaves caught my attention, as Yellow's head slowly peeked out from it's hiding place. The moment our eyes met, she shied away and gently descended to the ground... before landing and awkwardly pawing at the dirt. Realizing I'm not going to get anywhere like this, I carefully crossed the distance between us. Other than tensing up a bit, she didn't react.

I tried to look as unthreatening as possible as I went, aided by the fact I was still in my torn clothing instead of my armor. Coming up next to her, she stared up at me with wide eyes as I examined the spot she had been hammering at. The nail was barely holding itself up, I could probably push it in further with just my thumb...

Reaching down, I pulled out my axe and lift it to the nail before giving it a swift strike on it's blunt end. Giving a small nod, I sheathed the axe before looking back down to Yellow... who was now sprawled on her side.

My eyes widened in surprise and I quickly knelt down to her, checking her pulse wherever I could. However, I quickly stopped once I realized what had happened.

'She actually fainted...' I let out an annoyed groan, before reaching down and lifting her off the ground.

Cradling her in my arms, I carried her around the cottage and to the front. Taking a quick glance around to make sure no one saw me, I fumbled with the door handle before swinging it open.

'Of course it's unlocked... these ponies...'

Bending down, I squeezed through the small door... equine in hand. As I entered I was surprised to find I could stand to my full height, the interior being quite spacious with a high roof. Rolling my shoulders a bit, I made my way across the room and gently placed her on a couch. As I set her down I could feel a rapid thumping on my foot, getting me to raise a brow and look... just to see a small angry rabbit kicking me.

Ignoring the annoying critter, I dug into my pouch and retrieved one of the amulets, before affixing it around her neck. I quickly turned and made my way out of the cottage and back to the area I'd found her. I effortlessly lifted the small birdhouse up to where I drove the nail, and gave a small nod before making my way to the nearby tree.

As I sat down, leaning against the trunk, I pulled out my pouch and got to work on extracting seeds from the herbs I had. Using a small folding knife I kept inside the pouch, I scavenged what seeds I could from a few of each flower before wrapping up their butchered remains. Just because I removed the seeds doesn't mean the flower itself can't be used... and my pouch's' ability to freeze an items state makes rot a non-issue.

I'm not sure how much time had past, but the early morning sun had quickly risen high into the sky. The sound of a door creaking open caught my attention, as the yellow form of the pony hesitantly rounded the side of the cottage. Her eyes found me immediately, as she quickly stopped in place... before retrieving the necklace I had left her from her mane.

She motioned to the necklace with a curious glance, as I reached into my pouch and grabbed my own. Hooking it around my neck, I motioning for her to do the same. Looking between me and the jewelry a few times, she hesitantly clipped it around her neck... a heat radiating the moment the latch locked in place.

"Thanks." I started, eliciting a quick 'Eep!' from her again as she pulled behind her mane. "For the fish yesterday, I mean."

There was a long silence, until she finally spoke in such a small voice I was amazed I heard it at all, even with my improved hearing.

"You're welcome..." She squeaked out.

Another awkward few moments passed as I crossed my arms and squinted at her, getting her to shrink even more. "Apologies, I find it quite difficult not to scare you ponies. You're all quite timid."

"Oh, sorry..." She apologized, shrinking even more.

Shaking my head, I raised a hand up. "I didn't mean it as a bad thing, you don't have to apologize." I reassured.

"Oh... sorry..." She apologized again, getting me to groan and thump my head on the tree I was sitting against.

"It's fine!" I snapped in annoyance, making her recoil a bit and eliciting a small sigh from me. "It's... fine. Look, my name's Dalandor. As it stands right now I'm basically stuck here and I just need help finding a Tailor," I paused, putting my fingers through my torn shirt for emphasis, "I've heard the village over there has one." I finished, motioning in the general direction of the town.

After I finished explaining, I could see her scanning me before taking in a deep breath and slowly breathing out. "I'm F-Fluttershy..." She hesitantly squeaked out. "And I s-suppose Rarity can be considered a tailor."

'Fluttershy huh? Yeah that name makes a lot of sense'

"Well then 'Fluttershy', could you show me where? I haven't exactly gotten a tour of the village." I asked, getting her to look at me in surprise.

"You want me to help you?" She asked, blinking a couple times at me.

Shrugging, I crossed my arms again. "Well, considering you're one of the first ponies I've seen since arriving and you haven't tried to kill me yet puts you on my 'Okay' list." I explained with a raised eyebrow.

I saw her reel back quickly, a look of surprise on her face. "I-I'd never k-kill anypony!" She exclaimed in a hushed scream with a look of horror.

Quickly raising my hands, I tried my best to calm her down. "Woah woah, I never said you would. I actually said the opposite, you're already doing better than most of the people I've met in my travels."

"Oh... okay..." She replied, returning once more to pawing at the ground. "Where do you come from that so many people want to hurt you?"

Shifting a bit in place, I gave a small sigh. "Far from here, nothing to worry about anymore." I stated with finality, getting her ears to splay back a bit. "So, can you help me?" I asked again, getting her to squint in thought.

"Well, Rarity's boutique isn't normally open on Sundays, actually nothing is..." She paused for a moment as she shuffled around, "If it's just the holes you need fixed I can help." She finished as I raised a brow at her.

Before I could answer, she flapped her wings and took off into the air and around the cottage. There was a small wait until she gently glided back down to where I was sitting, a small case in her hooves. I watched her set it down in-front of me and unlatch the front, before opening it to reveal small needles and threads of many sizes and colors.

As I watched her pull out a white thread and push it through a needle, I snapped out of my stare and quickly shed my shirt. My sensitive pale skin felt hot against the intense sun as I scooched further under the tree and into the shade. Hot, dry days have always caused me grief.

Looking back to her, I could see her waiting expectantly... needle and thread in hoof. I gave another look to my shredded shirt before tossing it over to her, which she caught midair with her wing. It was almost mesmerizing, watching her thread the needle in and out of the cloth... if not just for how impossible it looked.

She hummed to herself as she sewed, patching up all the rips and tears I've accrued over time. Until she stopped on the particularly large, and recent, hole in the chest.

"Oh my... what caused this?" She paused her humming as she ran her hoof over it.

"Longsword." I stated, getting her to snap to me.

"What? You mean like a..." She trailed off, still looking at me.

"A weapon?" I cut in, getting her to slowly nod. "Yeah, specifically from one of Stormwind's guards. Crooked bastards." I growled out the last line, crossing my arms.

"You were attacked by a guard? Were you a criminal?" Fluttershy asked, her ears splaying back a bit.

Shaking my head, I waved the idea off. "No no, Nothing like that. I just have lots of... enemies." I explained, before slouching a bit in place and letting out a long, drawn out sigh. "Knew it was coming anyway, had assassins on me for the last couple months now..."

Shaking her head, I swear I could see her eyes glistening a bit. "Oh you poor thing! You must have been so scared!"

Before I could register what she was doing, I found myself embraced in a feathery hug. Wrapping her wings around my barrel, she held onto me weakly.

Groaning, I wedged my hands between us and carefully pried her off me. "Not really, I've basically been hunted as long as I can remember. Also don't hug me, I hate hugs."

I could see her give me another worried look, before tucking her wings against her side and sitting down a few feet from me. "But everypony loves hugs."

"Not a pony." I fired back, getting her to shrink a bit. "Don't take it personally. I said the same thing to the last pony that hugged me."

Sniffling a bit, she gave a small nod before looking down at the shirt she'd been working on. There was a stretch of silence as she got back to work on closing up the holes. As she sewed away, I took in the area behind the cottage.

All around the backyard were many kinds of flora and fauna, and the stream which flowed out front rounded back here. I followed the stream all the way until my eyes rest upon a fairly large body of water. I could see a couple ponies hanging out around the edge, swimming in the water... but much too far away to make out any details.

A small click yanked me back to the present as I turned to see Fluttershy sliding her sewing kit away. With a flap of her wing, she tossed the shirt back over to me. I gave it a quick glance before pulling it back on, running my fingers over the freshly stitched lines. With a nod I reach into my pouch, scooping a handful of gold coins before pulling them out and offering them to her.

"Here, for the trouble. I always pay for good help." I stated, noticing her quickly widening eyes.

In an instant, she crossed her hooves at me and shook her head. "No! That's way too much, I couldn't possibly take it. It was only a bit of sewing."

Shooting her a confused glance, I looked back down to the coins in my hand. "There's only five?" I questioned, tilting my head a bit.

Fishing the coins I'd given her the previous day out of her mane, she motioned to them. "But it's real gold, they must be worth a fortune!"

As she said this, I couldn't help but crack a smile as a chuckle escaped my lips. Before long, I was howling with laughter... much to her confusion.

"Tell me..." I began, composing myself and looking at her again, "How much is a ounce of gold worth here in your currency?"

"Around three hundred bits I think?" She answered, tapping her chin.

I slapped my hand on my face hard as she said this, not believing what I was hearing. I wasn't sure what a 'Bit' was, but I knew for sure money wasn't going to be a problem with the almost twenty thousand gold pieces I currently had. Of course, I'm going to want to keep such a thing secret, I could only imagine how many people out there would pounce on a chance like this.

Shaking my head again, I tossed the coins over to her. "Trust me, keep it. I'll be fine." I stated, motioning to them.

Nervously, she shuffled in place before eyeing the coins again. "Well... if you insist..."

The sound of my footsteps crunching though leaves and twigs reached my ears as I walked through the forest, occasionally broken by the stray tune of birdsong. I'd spent a little longer at Fluttershy's but I began to worry that my presence would soon start to bother her. It did take a lot of extra reassurance to get her to keep the coins, but in the end she relented and stashed them away... however not without telling me she'd get this 'Rarity' to make me new clothes.

She said she could share my measurements with her when she sees her next, and assured me there will be absolutely no funny dress business going on. I guess they must be friends and after all my whole purpose for coming out here was to get new clothes anyway. Seeing as all the shops are apparently closed on 'Sunday' finding a blacksmith was out of the question as well, so I agreed to let her take my measurements. The process was much less invasive than I thought, however she did ask me to take my pants off once... but after a firm no she didn't ask again.

So I trudged back through the woods and towards Zecora's hut, much earlier than I'd expected to return. The afternoon sun piercing through cracks in the treetops and dotting the path ahead. After the uneventful walk the hut quickly came into view, nothing looking amiss and no sign of Twilight... yet.

I neared the door before I felt a presence... my eyes picking up movement in the bushes to the right. I managed to keep myself from stealing a glance, and instead turned left around the hut, where I quickly broke sightline and shifted forms. As soon as I did I bolted into the nearby trees, taking in any smells I could.

A gentle upwind carried a peculiar mix of scents my way as I quickly followed them, rounding the clearing from inside the tree-line. I watched the spot I'd seen movement at, and scanned it for any anomalies as I moved. A small shift of the leaves told me all I needed to know as I quickly prowled along the ground, taking a with berth to avoid being noticed.

Situating myself behind the bush, I slowly crept up and closed the distance... before I began hearing frantic whispering. The words were nonsense to me, but now I was sure it wasn't some wild animal. Whatever was here had intent, which had just sealed their fate. I could feel my scowl grow as I neared the bush and began to make out a few shadows moving around inside.

The bush was only about ten feet away now, and I began running through my mind what spell I should try out. Plenty of options went through my mind, until I settled on a simple area of effect spell. Lifting one of my hands I just barely began to conjure the spell before my train of thought came crashing to a halt as a high pitched scream reached my ears. Instinctively my ears splayed back and my whole body tensed as I frantically looked around for it's source.

"Ahhh!" The bush just in-front of me suddenly came to life, and a small white filly came sprinting towards me screaming bloody murder.

I just blinked at the small equine charging me, and noticed a fairly large centipede currently tangled in it's mane. With a thump she crashed straight into me as I sat back, catching her with my arms. Her eyes were screwed shut as she flailed like mad, knocking the centipede loose from her mane and sending it somewhere behind me.

A series of noises from the brush caught my attention from the screaming filly as I turned to see a couple more ponies emerge. One was orange with wings and the other yellow with a big pink bow, both staring at me in absolute terror. The pony with the bow whimpered something as the one in my lap suddenly stopped squirming.

Breathing quick and labored, the small unicorn finally cracked her eyes open towards the two fillies... before turning to me. I could see her white coat pale immediately as her large expressive eyes locked with mine, and I barely had enough time to cover my ears before she let out another piercing cry.

In a flurry of movement, she leapt off my lap and flew towards the other two... before they all took off straight for the hut. They hurriedly crashed over each other as they piled into the doorway before slamming it shut.

I sat there in silence for a few more moments, running the recent scenario through my head over and over.

'I almost killed those kids...' The grim realization gripped my thoughts. 'I need to be more careful. This isn't Azeroth, maybe I don't need to be so cautious all the time...'

Letting out a deep sigh, I shifted back to my human form and stood to full height. Cautiously, I entered the clearing again and made my way to the door. Giving it a couple light knocks, there was an uncomfortable length of silence until the sound of a lock clicking reached my ears.

The door creaked open a bit, and I could see Zecora hesitantly peek out before sighing in relief. Motioning me in, she swung the door open fully and retreated inside. Bending down, I slowly entered the hut and took in the scene. Twilight was on the other side of the room, desperately trying to calm three panicked fillies, until she froze and locked eyes with me.

Ignoring her stare, I sat down at the table and looked around for the lessons I'd left, before spotting one sticking out of a nearby book. Pulling it over I flipped it open and spread out the two Spell Matrices I'd left, until I felt a gentle tap on my left shoulder. Glancing over I could see Zecora looking at me questioningly, before motioning to Twilight.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled out the translators and handed her one as I put on my own.

"Yes?" I asked, turning back to the pages before digging into my pouch for the required herbs.

"What happened?" Zecora spoke up from behind me, before coming up to my right and watching me. "Why are they here?"

Setting down various herbs and equipment, I turned to face her again. "Why don't you ask them, I found them sneaking around in the bushes outside." I paused, before sighing. "And I might have spooked them, they saw my other side."

As I said this, I could see her cast me a questioning gaze, before contorting to barely concealed dread. "Right... and by other side you mean..." She trailed off, and I just gave her a single nod before turning back to the table.

"The wolf-like form? Yes, I'll try not to make a habit of it. I saw something sneaking around and assumed the worst." I didn't bother looking in her direction as I straightened out all the potion supplies on the table.

More silence followed, until I heard her walking away as the warmth radiating from the necklace suddenly cut out. I payed it no mind as I rummaged around in my bag, before pulling out my crystal vial heater and gingerly placing it on the table. Rubbing my hands together, I got to work on setting out some vials when I felt the warmth ignite on my chest again.

"Um e-excuse me..." A new voice made me freeze, as I quickly glanced behind me and saw Twilight watching me, the three fillies from before hiding behind her and sparing me quick glances.

I furrowed my brow at her, before pushing the stool back a bit and spinning around to face her. As I stared her down, she shuffled a bit in place as I crossed my arms.

Finally, she cleared her throat and spoke again. "M-My name's-"

"I know who you are." I cut in quickly, getting her ears to splay back at my voice. "Why are you still here, I expected you to be finished your business by now."

Twilight shuffled a bit in place and seemed to have a hard time maintaining eye contact with me. "W-Well yes I am but Zecora told me you're in the possession of some kind of magic," My eyes flicked to Zecora who rubbed her foreleg and smiled sheepishly, "-and I was just wondering if you'd be willing to show me too!" She paused and fluttered her wings nervously. "...please." She finished with a forced smile.

I quickly shook my head. "No."

The effect was immediate. Her smile vanished and ears splayed back, her wings drooping slightly like I'd just murdered a puppy in front of her.

"N-No? Why not?!" She whined.

Groaning, I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I don't do apprentices."

"But you took Zecora?" She asked, pointing to the aforementioned Zebra.

Rolling my eyes, I spun back around to face the herbs I placed out. "She's an exception. We made a deal."

A flurry of hoof steps sounded behind me until I saw purple fill my peripheral vision right of the table. "You mean like the language thing? I can help with that, I'm a great teacher... learner too! I'm the element of magic I can take anything, please!"

Covering my face with my hands, I took in a deep breath and held it for a moment, before slowly breathing out and turning to face Twilight who was now uncomfortably close. You'd think this Princess would be more cautious about her personal space. Taking a peek around the room, I saw Zecora leaving the hut with the small fillies in tow.

'So much for sending Twilight away with them... wait, what'd she say?' My thoughts caught up with what I heard as I cast a curious glance at her.

"Element of magic? That's quite a ego you have Twilight." I stated getting her to go red in the face.

Puffing up her cheeks, she tried and failed to appear angry. "It's not an ego thing! I'm really the element of magic, it's my special talent!"

Giving a small chuckle, I grabbed a sheet of paper and pulled out a quill. "Alright miss 'Element of Magic', tell me... how many fundamental forces of magic are there in the universe?"

Blinking at me a couple times with wide eyes, she quickly squinted and scratched her chin as she hummed to herself. "Well... that'd have to be friendship, harmony and chaos." She stated with a smile and closed eyes.

I couldn't help but snicker a bit, getting her to crack an eye open and glare back to me. "Friendship huh? Well I don't know how to break it to you Miss Harmony but you're missing a few." As I said this, she raised an eyebrow at me as I motioned to the page in front of me. "The first two are the most important... Light and Shadow."

Brandishing the quill, I brought it to the parchment and drew a six pointed star. I scribbled 'Light' on the top point and 'Shadow' on the bottom.

"Life and Death, or otherwise called Nature and Fel." I continued, marking 'Life' on the top left point and 'Death' on the bottom right. "And finally, Order and Chaos." Pausing for a second, I wrote 'Order' on the bottom left point and 'Chaos' on the top right. "Order is usually just referred to as Arcane magic though. And I'm not even going to get into elemental magic right now."

As I finished my explanation, I set the quill down before reaching for the sheet. As I neared the page it was surrounded in a purple glow, before being ripped away and greedily scanned by Twilight... mere inches from her face.

"What?! That's impossible! I've studied magic all my life and I haven't even heard of half of these!" Locking eyes with me again, she closed the distance and placed her hooves on my shoulders, getting me to tense. "Please, you have to teach me!"

Slowly lifting my hands, I clasped them around her hooves and lift her off me. "Don't touch." I said quietly as I set her down. "And no."

As I said this, she let out an angry snort and shook her mane a bit. "You owe me!"

I looked at her bewildered. "...what?"

"Back at the library, you scared the hay out of me!" She puffed up her cheeks again, and I felt a small tinge of anger rise.

'Really? Guilt tripping me? Alright little girl, you want to play like this...' Squinting my eyes at her, I dug into my pouch for a specific item.

She watched me expectantly as I rummaged around before pulling out an old looking tome. Cracking it open, I quickly flipped through the pages until I found the one I was looking for. As I ran my finger over the paper, a small smile creeped onto my features as I stopped on my target.

"Tell you what Twilight." I began, getting her to perk up and her wings to open a bit. "I'll teach you, if you manage to cast this spell by tomorrow... Miss 'Element of Magic'."

Setting the book down, I got to work on copying over the correct Spell Matrix. I carefully compared the two as I went, after all this kind of magic wasn't my affinity so I had much less practice with it. Giving it one last glance, I gave a small nod and slid it across the table and towards Twilight.

Lighting up her horn, she brought it up to her face and quickly scanned it. "It looks... advanced. Is it dangerous?" She asked, getting a quick shake of my head.

"No, purely defensive magic." I held back my smile as she read it over some more.

"I... think I can do it. I'll have to really break it down tonight... wait, how'll you know If I cast it or not?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Oh I'll know." I said with a smile. "So, deal?" I reached out my hand, and she scanned it for a moment before smiling and reaching forward.

"Deal!" She shouted excitedly.

As she shook my hand, I raised a finger up with the other. "Remember, if you don't figure it out by tomorrow... don't ask me again."

Her ears splayed back for a moment, before she steeled her features and gave a nod. "I'll have it mastered by tomorrow, just wait and see!"

Stomping over to the door, her horn flared for a moment as it flung open, before she stormed out and closed it tight behind. Thinking for a moment, I shook my head and made my way to the door before yanking it open and whistling to the pony, who was now about twenty feet in the air. She looked at me puzzled, until I tapped to the amulet hanging around my neck.

She blinked once, before smiling sheepishly and letting out an embarrassed laugh as her horn lit up. The necklace clicked off her, before slowly floating down and into my hand. Scratching my chin, I watched her turn and take off towards the village.

'What if she actually does it?' I wondered to myself, before shaking the thought from my mind. 'Nah. Nobody can learn a spell from just a Spell Matrix alone. One needs deep understanding of the forces fueling the spell, hopefully she doesn't work herself up too much' I chuckled a bit at the thought, before turning back into the hut and shutting the door.

Perspective: Spike

The sound of the world slowly faded in as I let out a long yawn, stretching as much as I could.

'Wow... I feel awesome!'

And it was true, I felt like a million bits. Twilight came home in a hurry last night and just rambled on about some new spell or something. I was already wiped out after hauling in a brand new table, seeing as our last one got... chopped. So I decided to head to bed early... and judging from the angle the sun was casting in through my window, I overslept as well.

'Weird... Twilight usually wants me up early on Monday... oh well I'm not complaining' I let the thought go as I flopped over in my bed, before lazily getting to my feet.

Dragging one step in-front of the other I left my room, cringing at the light assaulting my eyes. Rubbing the sleep out with a claw, I let out another yawn as I peeked into Twilights room. Not seeing her, I shrugged to no-one and made my way downstairs. Glancing around, everything looked exactly as I left it when I went to bed... which was odd considering the sporadic nature of Twilight's 'Reading' pile.

'She's probably been in the lab all night again, she did mention a new spell'

Lumbering over to the kitchen, I poured out some apple juice in a cup before taking a long swig and refilling it again. Glass in hand, I make my way to the staircase leading to the lab. I gave a small huff, blowing the tassel which hung from my nightcap out of the way. As I descended the stairs, I felt a slight chill dance up my few exposed scales and electing an involuntary shiver from me.

Ignoring the feeling, I continued to the bottom until I reached Twilight's lab. The lab was in complete disarray, papers strewn everywhere and all her magic measuring machines all looked absolutely fried. However, all of these things paled in comparison to what I saw in the middle of the lab.

"T-Twilight?" I whimpered out as my grip loosened on the glass, causing it to shatter on the stone floor.

In the center of the room... surrounded by a thin layer of mist was a huge shard of ice, and inside that ice was none other than Twilight Sparkle herself.

Frozen mid triumphant pose with a victorious smile.

Chapter 11: Library Visit

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Chapter 11: Library Visit

After Twilight left I found myself with a few spare hours, and decided to use this time to finally eat those fish I'd gotten from Fluttershy. I roasted them outside over a fire, figuring the herbivore probably wouldn't like the smell of cooking flesh filling their home.

When Zecora had finally returned she showed me some bottles she'd picked up in town, apparently ingredients for this 'Farming Potion' she mentioned. I decided to let her to take care of that herself, not like I'd be much help anyway considering the vastly different techniques these equines seem to use in potion brewing. We did spend a little time going over the Spell Matrices I'd left, an unexpected visitor having thrown a metaphorical wrench into her solo study time. The product of our efforts came in the form of two small vials... a Minor Mana Potion and an Elixir of Defense.

Zecora rolled the small blue mana potion around on the table, before looking back to me. "The Elixir of Defense I can assume the effect of... but what do you mean 'Mana Potion'? What's 'Mana'?"

Leaning back a bit, I scratched my chin. "Well mana is... hm. I'm not really the right one to ask about the specifics. I could probably find you the exact definition in a book..." I trailed off as I glanced to my pouch, which contained a random collection of knowledge I've accrued over time.

Zecora quickly shook her head. "No, it's okay. A simple explanation is fine, I've just never heard that term before."

Shooting her a curious look, I crossed my arms. "Well... mana is kind of like the fuel for magic in the most basic terms, not all magics use mana mind you though. A mage would probably slap me if he heard me explain it like that but it'll have to do for now. And this," I paused and leaned forward, tapping on the small blue vial, "-helps alleviate the strain of extreme mana exertion. As a magical race surly you have some kind of theory of your own akin to mana?” I asked, raising a brow.

Scratching her chin, she just shook her head. “No, we usually just refer to it as magic. You may as well call this a ‘Magic potion’ to us.”

Pointing at her, I leaned forward on the table. “Magic is actually something I wanted to ask you about, Twilight said as far as ponies are aware there are three fundamental forces of magic.” I began, getting a nod from her.

“Harmony, Chaos and friendship.” She named off, getting me to shake my head.

“That’s just the thing, there's so much more... and the friendship doesn't make any sense. You cant have a fundamental force of magic without an an opposing force.” I replied, getting a shrug from the Zebra.

She bit at the inside of her cheek for a moment, before shaking her head. “While Celestia has always pushed friendship as Equestria’s biggest virtue, it being recognized officially as a fundamental of magic is still pretty fresh. Princess Twilight would be the expert on that... until recently it was just Harmony and Chaos.”

I rubbed my face with my left hand, letting out a sigh as I thought about that. “When I can finally read I feel like I’ll have a lot of catching up to do…”

The rest of the night was uneventful, the only thing of interest was my first lessons on their language, 'Equish,' as they called it. The process wasn't difficult, as much as it was tedious. The process of learning a new language wasn't hard for me, the fact that I only had a couple years worth of memories might have to do with it... or the fact that learning multiple languages was pretty normal in Azeroth already. No... the tediousness was because each lesson the amulets had to be constantly taken off and re-equipped, due to the fact that the translation method it employed was automatic and I had to actually hear the word in their tongue to properly repeat it.

As the moon's glow replaced the sun's, we wrapped up our lessons. I'd like to think I made decent progress, already picking up on quite a few words and phrases. It helps that apparently their language deviated from symbols to a character based structure many centuries ago, I always found it hard to read any of those languages as the symbols always confused me with runes.

The yes and no's were simple, mostly just sounded like weird horse noises, and I also learned a few simple greetings and phrases. I still needed a lot of practice, but at least my eyes wont totally glaze over when the local populace tries to talk to me. Much to the annoyance of the Zebra, I decided to sleep out in the forest this night. I didn't explain to her why, but I had my own reasons for keeping my distance. After all, I didn't want to get too social... attachments like that can be used against me.

Dreams darted past my vision as I slept, my eyes raced to try and read any of them... however none would stay long enough. That was, until a certain dark memory surfaced causing my breath to hitch as my eyes flew open. A small shiver ran through my body, the dark night sky greeting me through the treetops. I blinked a couple times, before rubbing my eyes and letting out a groan.

'I've forgotten everything else, why can't I just forget them too...' Those faces still burned into my mind, the looks of betrayal...

As usual a cool sheen of sweat covered me from head to toe, but I’d gotten pretty good at ignoring the uncomfortable chilly feeling whenever I awoke. Sighing again, I rolled onto my side and tried to fall back asleep. My efforts were rewarded with a long, restless night as I lay there unable to sleep another wink.

As the sun cracked over the horizon and I returned to the hut, I helped Zecora haul that giant cauldron back into the center of the room. She seemed a bit perturbed by how easy lifting it seemed to be, but didn’t outright say anything. I could tell her demeanor was a bit different today, a bit more jumpy whenever I made a sudden move or noise. I'm not sure what her and Twilight had spoken about while I was gone, but it definitely seems to have made her more nervous around me.

'Perhaps... I should start looking into wrapping my business up here when I can and move on. These ponies may start to grow tired of me as the novelty wears off'

While preparing the pit she’d asked if I wanted a rundown of the mixing process behind the potion, but I elected to just watch from the sidelines and occasionally assist with lifting heavy pots up to pour in.

After a few hours of mixing in various ingredients I had settled down by the table, my armor spread out across it along with some tools. I checked each piece carefully, doing what I could to bend back small links of chain that had broken or deformed over time or from recent combat. Taking a peek over to Zecora, I watched as she slowly stirred the cauldron's green contents. I wasn’t sure how much was needed per herb but it definitely seemed like I’d have more than enough for the foreseeable future.

Pinching another link back together, a cough pulled me from my work. Zecora was standing by the cauldron, motioning to a large barrel on the other side of the hut stacked atop some crates. Hefting the barrel onto my shoulder, I made my way to the pit and set it down before prying the lid off.

Neither of us had the amulet on as she gave me simple one word requests, as to help me practice the language more. Carefully, she poured a blue liquid under the cauldron and into the fire, causing it to quickly snuff out. I blinked at the lack of smoke, but shook the curiosity brewing in my mind and began transferring the potion into the barrel.

After just a few scoops of liquid a hard rapping at the door got us both to freeze. We both looked at each other for a moment, before it sounded again twice as loud, kicking us into action. I pointed to the other end of the room, and Zecora just gave a swift nod before silently scurrying over. Unsheathing my axe, I slowly approached the door and grasped the handle.

My grip tightened around the weapon as I inched the door open, freezing as I saw a patch of white fill the open space. One of Celestia's guards peered back through, prancing on it’s hooves anxiously.

‘Hold on… thats-’ I cut off my thoughts as I yanked the door open the rest of the way.

"Silversong?" I asked, getting the pony to freeze in place and crane her neck up to me.

"D-Dalandor?!" Her eyes widened in shock, until a scramble of hooves behind me caught her attention.

The moment she saw Zecora, she let out a small gasp and moved to enter before glancing to me and stopping in place. Looking between the two, I sighed and leaned out of the way.

"Zecora?" She asked, getting a hesitant nod from the Zebra.

Silversong quickly broke into a panicked series of words. She spoke far too fast for me to make out, however a couple words did catch my attention. Namely, 'Twilight' and 'Spell'. Furrowing my brow in frustration, I turned around and cast my gaze to Zecora.

The zebra looked equally as confused, as she shook her head at the guard before looking back to me. Already sensing what she was about to ask, I retrieved the amulet from my pouch and tossed one over to her. As she latched it around her neck I waited anxiously for her explanation.

"It's Twilight!" She began, shaking her hoof for emphasis. "Apparently there's been an accident, but I never gave her a spell to study?" She finished, directing her question to the pony in the doorway.

Waving my hand, I stopped the guard as she took in a breath to speak. Motioning the amulet over, Zecora reluctantly removed the necklace and hoofed it over to me. Grabbing it's chain, I spun around and presented it to the guard who blinked at me in surprise.

After the shock receded she nervously shuffled in place, as she looked between the amulet dangling from my grasp and my unmoving stare. I shook it a bit, getting her to jolt.

"Want help?" I asked slowly in Equish the best I could. "Wear."

Locking her eyes with the item again, she crouched a bit while letting out an anxious groan before hesitantly taking it in her hooves. As it clicked around her neck, I prepared for the torrent of words about to come my way as she sucked in a huge breath.

"I'm not sure how you're involved but the Princess is stuck in ice and today's my first day on Princess guard duty and she's already in trouble and we can't melt her out and I don'tknowwhattodo!" She sucked in another huge breath as I clenched my teeth, cringing from the volume. "Spike said something about a new spell she got from Zecora's place so I followed his directions here and now you're here and now I'm confused and... I think I'm bucked..." She finished her longwinded explanation as she collapsed on her haunches.

She looked utterly defeated, however most of what she said fell on deaf ears as I stared at the ground... frozen in shock.

'I can't believe this...' I thought as I let out a groan, getting Silversong's attention.

Taking in a careful breath, I brought up a hand and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Trapped... in ice?" I asked slowly.

Silversong blinked a few times with a small look of surprise, before nodding furiously. “Yes! We can’t get her out, we’ve tried everything, Nothing seems to break through!”

The uneasy feeling quickly turned to dread as she confirmed my worries.

“So she did it…” I growled low, getting Silversong’s ears to give a small flick.

She blinked a couple times and shook her head as she opened her mouth to speak again, but her plans were cut short as I slammed my fist on the doorframe eliciting a loud bang!

"Fuck!" I yelled aloud, startling both nearby ponies.

Ignoring the mixed looks they gave me, I pushed past the sputtering guard and down the dirt path. My strides were long as my gaze burned towards my destination, the small pony village.

A series of hoofsteps sounded behind me as Zecora and Silversong quickly appeared at my sides. “W-Wait! “ The guardpony spoke up, pulling ahead and stopping in-front of me.

I halted my advances, and locked my gaze on her as she withdrew a bit.

“W-Whats that mean? What happened?” She asked worriedly.

Motioning with both my arms and letting them fall to my side, I let out a sigh. “It means…” ‘She won…’ I grumbled out the last couple words.

“…what?” She asked with a tilt of her head as I groaned in annoyance.

“She won!” I yelled, just getting a slow blink from her as I stomped past the dumbstruck guard.

“She shouldn’t of been able to do it!” I yelled to the persistent guard trotting next to me.

Turns out Celestia had taken my little scolding to heart and appointed a private guard for Twilight after all. However, said guard was currently having an anxiety fueled meltdown next to me. I ignored her pestering questions and trudged along the path, until we quickly passed the forest’s border.

I shielded my eyes a bit at the change in illumination, but marched onwards to the village as Silversong continued to pelt me with questions.

“Why shouldn’t she have been able to do it? She’s the Element of Magic. Of course she’d do it!” She fired back, eliciting a grunt from me from hearing the title again.

Turning to face her, I pointed a finger her way getting her to skid to a stop. “Thats not how magic works. You can’t just perform a spell with the Matrix alone, you need practice, you need study, no-one is that gifted.” I finished with a nod, before continuing my anger filled march towards the village.

There was a length of silence as I followed the gravely path towards the town, the only sound coming from the rocks as they shifted between my toes. I winced a bit at a twinge of pain shooting through my foot as I looked down in annoyance at the raw flesh. I had no socks fit to wear and the only footwear I had were a pair of plate greaves in my pouch.

However, wearing them without a cloth buffer is almost as painful as my bare feet on gravel so it’s not like I was in a hurry to ‘upgrade’ to them.

‘I should stop by the tailor’s and update my order to include socks…’ I absently thought to myself, until the sound of someone clearing their throat caught my attention.

Glancing behind me, I saw Zecora looking at me curiously and now wearing the amulet. “So… what exactly happened?” She asked, having been quiet the whole trip and just listening.

Of course she could only hear half the conversation.

Sighing, I looked straight ahead again. “I made a deal with Twilight. And now I have to pay up.” I stated simply, eliciting a snort from the Zebra behind me.

“You gave Twilight a test?! Pfft-” She let out a quick series of giggles, much to my annoyance. “And how’d that work out for you?”

Shaking my head, I shrugged. “Well apparently Twilight got her spell stuck in a channel loop, so I’d say it’s not fun for her either.”

At this, she gave me a confused stare. “A… channel loop? What’s that?”

I waved off the question as we closed in on the entrance to the village, the two guards standing on either side quickly snapping their gaze onto me.

“You’ll see.” I stated back, ignoring her annoyed look.

As we approached the guards they visibly tensed, until Silversong quickly hurried past me and greeted the two guards. Trading a few words with each other and sparing a glance or two in my direction, they hesitantly nodded and stood aside. I quickly stomped past them, sparing them not a single glance and entering the town.

It was much busier than the last time I’d entered, I assumed this was due to it being a late afternoon on ‘Monday’. Ponies bustled around the dirt roads, many shouting out into the crowds trying to sell their wares. I could even see a few foals running around, one even buzzing it’s tiny wings to propel itself on a small scooter.

The whole place just oozed tight knit community, and it didn’t take very long for my presence to be noticed… almost all movement coming to a sudden stop. I took in a slow breath and calmed my nerves at the stares, and pushed through to my destination.

A few ponies would flinch as I passed them, or yelp in surprise as they turned a corner to see me.

‘The more things change… the more they stay the same’ I let out a sigh as I looked around, all of the familiar looks only averting to my own gaze.

This whole experience was so similar to my first day in Stormwind, it was uncanny. The only thing that was missing was the-

*Splat!*

I recoiled as a tomato nailed the right side of my face. I could hear a couple gasps sound out around the area as I tried to control my breathing, standing still but visibly shaking.

Slowly raising a hand, I peeled the item off my face and wiped my eye, before slowly turning my gaze to my terrified audience and where it'd come from.

’Want to make a show outta me huh? Which of you spineless animals threw it…’ My voice growled in my head as I scanned them all.

Every single pony in the crowd looked mortified and not a single one dared to move. But none of that mattered to me, by now my temper had reached it peak as I read them all, looking for the one who was bold enough to do the deed.

Zecora tugged at my shirt and said something, but the words fell on deaf ears… drowned out by the sound of my pounding heart. Once I was certain of the trajectory the offending fruit came from, I turned and began striding towards the crowd.

With every step the ponies around me trembled, each one shrunk down as small as possible as I closed in. As I neared I noticed that none of them had any of the incriminating foodstuffs, and began to move towards another group until I heard a familiar sound behind some nearby crates.

Any ponies ahead of me quickly parted as I walked, and many of them adorned looks of horror as I rounded the crates to see...

Those same three fillies again.

The yellow and orange ones were arguing amongst each-other about something, while the white one was fiddling with the contraption they stood around. I took a look at it, but before I could even register what it was a mechanical clang sounded off as another tomato planted itself right in my face.

Gasps sounded around me as I stood still and processed what just happened. The tomato slowly peeled off my face and fell to the ground with a splat as I fluttered my eyes open. The three fillies were all huddled together and staring at me in absolute terror as I blinked a couple times, before taking a quick glance at the crowd around me.

Many of them were watching in terrified anticipation, while one nearby pony seemed to have fainted.

Turning back to the fillies, then looking down at the miniature catapult, I couldn't help it as I let out a snicker, and before I knew it I burst into a full belly laugh.

It's not that I hadn't laughed in a long time, I did chuckle now and then and maybe have the occasional couple laughs. But something about this series of events had me absolutely hysterical. I actually almost felt a tear coming on, but as quickly as I started laughing it receded as I slowly controlled my breathing.

Looking at the fillies again, they remained huddled together but were watching me with timid curiosity. Clearing my throat I wiped off some of the leftover juices and seeds from my cheek, before pointing at the rudimentary catapult and giving a thumbs up.

“Good shot.” I said with a smile, in what was probably pretty awful Equish.

Their wide eyes blinked slowly, until I stood from my spot and lumbered back over to my awaiting travel mates. I ignored their stares and continued wiping any remaining splotches of red from my face, continuing my walk towards the library. The ponies around me were still cautious, but it seems many of them had finally gathered the courage to go about their business once more, albeit slowly.

The rest of the walk was uneventful as I watched the ponies go about their late afternoon routines. Of course, there was only so much I could observe until they stopped, opting to do the same to me. Before long the giant oak tree came into view and I cringed at the sight, the memory of my last visit replaying in my mind.

I wasted no time following the path around the library, until I froze at the sight before me.

A group of five ponies were huddled around the front door, muttering amongst each-other as one particularly colorful one continued to bang it’s hoof on the door. I recognized one of them immediately, it’s bright yellow body and pink mane unmistakable as it’s small form waited patiently at the back of the group.

Silversong passed me quickly and ran up to the group who all parted for her. However, as they did they all took notice of Zecora, then myself. All of their smiles disappeared, except one who quickly smiled even wider and waved at me.

The rest of the group all watched me with mixed expressions as Fluttershy nudged the white one, before saying something and motioning to me.

A small click got everyone's attention as the guard shoved the door open and motioned to me to enter. The small group of ponies glanced back and forth between the door and myself as I ignored them and bent down through the small entrance.

The inside was exactly as I remembered it, minus the crumpled table which seems to have already been replaced. There was a commotion behind me as I turned and saw the rest of the ponies conversing with Zecora. I just rolled my eyes and followed Silversong as she led me toward a staircase.

Perspective: Zecora

I followed closely behind Dalandor as he ducked down into the doorway, until a hoof tapped on my shoulder and quickly brought me to a stop.

“What the hay was that thing Zecora? And what’s it doing at Twilight’s?” Rainbow Dash asked in an annoyed tone, hovering just above me.

“We haven't seen hide nor hair of Twi all day. Is she alright?” Applejack added in, sparing glances to the open door.

Looking at the rest of the group, they all seemed to be waiting intently for what I had to say. I let out a sigh as I glanced back to the doorway as Dalandor gave me a quick peek, before disappearing inside.

“We’re actually here to see her, apparently she had a spell mishap. And he’s not dangerous…” I paused and bit my lip. “I think.”

“You think?” Rainbow butted in, letting out a snort. “Is he or isn’t he?”

Tapping my hoof on my chin, I hummed. “Well… he hasn’t hurt me yet. Actually he’s helped me a lot, but supposedly he’s killed a hydra.”

They all tensed at that, while Rainbow Dash waved her hoof at the claim.

“That's a load of manure, we've all heard the rumors and there's no way somepony that small could take on a hydra.” She finished with a nod, leaning back midair and resting her hooves behind her head.

"That... was him?" Applejack mumbled, looking towards the doorway.

“Twilight confirmed it herself, he did it.” I added, eliciting a double take from Rainbow.

“W-what?!" She reared back, before looking to the library in panic. "What’re we waiting for then!? C'mon!” She exclaimed, before shooting into the library at breakneck speeds, followed quickly by a galloping Applejack.

“Wooooow. He must be SUUUUUPER strong to take on a hydra. They weigh like… millions of pounds!” Pinkie pie quipped, bouncing into the tree after them.

Rarity, Fluttershy and I followed in shortly after just as Pinkie’s tail disappeared down a flight of stairs. As we hurried down the steps, Rarity spoke up next to me.

“Zecora, I simply adore that jewelry of yours. Could I take a look at it?” Rarity asked, pointing to the amulet hanging around my neck.

Rubbing it with my hoof, I bit my lip. “It’s not for show, it’s a translator for Dalandor. He can’t speak Equish.” As I finished Fluttershy gave a small nod In agreement.

“Fluttershy,” Rarity began, looking worriedly towards the pegasus, “Are you sure he’s harmless? He looked a little... brutish.”

Fluttershy nodded eagerly. “He's really a nice pony, I promise. He just looks scary on the outside.” She reassured Rarity, who still looked a bit unsure.

Biting her lip, she sighed. “Darling, when you explained the measurements for the garments I thought you may have mismeasured… but now I see I’ve got my work cut out for me.”

Fluttershy was about to say something, when a bang sounded from downstairs, followed by a loud crash and the sound of crumpling metal. The three of us shared a look, before sprinting the rest of the way down the stairs and into the lab below. I'd never been inside Twilight's lab myself, but whatever it was supposed to look like was likely a far cry from the state it was in currently.

I arrived last behind the other two, and the first thing I noticed was the large chunk of ice in the middle of the room, inside of which was Twilight... suspended in the center and unmoving. My mouth hung agape as I stared at it, until I turned my gaze to Applejack as she reared up next to it, legs pulled back and ready to buck.

*Crrrack*

"Ah'll get you out, jus hang on Twi!" Applejack croaked in panic as she reared back for another strike.

*Crrrack*

She continued pounding on the ice to no effect, as my eyes scanned the room for everypony else.

Pinkie was next to Applejack, drawing glasses and a mustache over Twilight with black magic marker. Rarity and Rainbow were arguing with each other on the other side of the room next to a couple of caved in machines as Silversong was frantically digging through their metal remains.

Fluttershy sat in the corner with Spike, both frozen in place as they watched the scene before them.

Frantically looking between the ponies around me, I turned to Fluttershy.

"W-What happened?" As I said it, Fluttershy winced and pointed towards Silversong and the destroyed equipment.

My brow furrowed in frustration as I galloped across the room towards the guardspony, skidding to a stop and glancing over the twisted rubble.

"Silversong? Where's Dalandor?" I asked anxiously as the panting guard stopped what she was doing to look at me.

She yanked off her helmet and tossed it across the room, revealing her silvery coat. "That friend of yours just bucked him across the room!" She yelled to Applejack as she stopped mid strike against the ice to glare towards her.

Rainbow swooped away from Rarity, and stood between Applejack and Silversong. "Yeah right, we've heard the rumors about that thing! Tell him to let her go!"

I shook my head and frowned at the heated pegasus, getting her to snort in annoyance. "Rainbow you misunderstand, he-"

However, anything else I had to say escaped me as a cold presence draped over me and I could feel my coat stand on end. Everypony else must have felt it too, as all the arguing ceased in an instant as the chill seeped through the air. A shiver ran through my body as I turned to Silversong and met her gaze, before we both turned to the twisted machines next to us.

The machines were large and boxy looking, reaching nearly to the ceiling. However, there was now a sizable crater in the center... which was steadily seeping a thick white fog. Hesitantly, I backed away from the hole until a low growl reached my ears.

The sound flared a primal urge in me, as my tail tucked between my legs and my pupils shrunk. My instincts were screaming at me to run and hide, or make myself so small I can't be seen. My mind raced as the sound of metal bending apart assaulted me.

My ears splayed back as I winced, until my whole body froze at the sight.

Two blue eyes bored into me, a mist seemingly rolling off them. The twisted metal caging the beast parted easily with one claw, as he slowly inched out into the room light once again.

All the memories of how I felt that night came flooding back as I watched the lupine creature stand to it's full height. It's face was twisted in pain and rage as he cradled his left arm, snapping his gaze across the room.

With a bit of effort, I turned my eyes to where he was looking. Applejack was next to the ice where she had been striking it, frozen in place with a look of horror.

Everypony else shared similar looks, all huddled against the walls and trying to appear as small as possible... except for Fluttershy who was watching with concern.

Dalandor’s chest heaved, each breath ending with a low growl as his right claw slowly lowered to grip the axe on his waist. Alarms started going on in my head as I slowly inched forward, getting his gaze to snap on me.

“Dalandor please… it was a misunder-“ However, I was cut off as he let out a sharp growl which made my sentence end in an unceremonious squeak.

Slowly he tread forward, his left arm hanging limply at his side as his axe slid from it’s holster. I tried to find my voice again, but could only manage to make a few sounds as he lumbered towards me. Frost covered the ground as he walked past me and towards Applejack, who was now trembling in place as she held her ground by Twilight and Rainbow.

I felt powerless as he passed me, shivering as the cold air rolled over me. Part of me was telling me not to turn around, to witness what was about to happen. I pushed back the feeling and cautiously turned my head and gasped at the sight.

Fluttershy was standing between Dalandor and Applejack, holding a single hoof up between them.

I knew I had to do something, to save my friends.

But...

I couldn't move.

Perspective: Dalandor

The pain rippled up my left arm, each movement sending another wave through my body. Fluttershy stood between me and my target, meekly holding her hoof up in a futile attempt to stop me.

Strike

The dark temptation creeped into my mind, as my grip tightened around my axe handle and I gave a sharp growl. Fluttershy flinched and let out a small squeak, but shook her head back at me and said something... and for a moment I thought I could understand her.

A long silence stretched out between us as I stared down at the pegasus, bravely standing between me and her friends. She spoke again, this time her words broke though my clouded mind and the gripping cold receded just enough to think clearly. Casting my gaze around the room, I could see every single pair of eyes rightfully looking at me in fear.

The whole room had started to frost over, and the path I'd walked was slick with ice.

'Just a... misunderstanding...' My reasoning finally broke through as I hesitantly sheathed my axe.

I let out a slow sigh as I stumbled back a bit, a mist enveloping me as I returned back to my human form. Wincing at the sudden movement, I grasped my broken arm and seethed at the pain. Fluttershy let out a worried gasp and moved to check my arm, but I quickly shot her down with an intense glare.

Slowly, I moved around her and towards the point of my journey here. This time Fluttershy didn't move to stop me, however the orange and cyan equines were still blocking my way.

"Move." I demanded coldly.

There was a small silence, until Zecora spoke up behind me. "G-Girls I think you should move."

The two equines looked like they were about to argue, until Fluttershy spoke up as well. Reluctantly, the two retreated backwards until they were at the wall with the small purple drake and white unicorn. Glancing behind me, I motioned Fluttershy to move back more.

Once she was far enough away, I rounded the large piece of ice and came to the spot the orange pony had been striking at. There wasn't a single blemish on it, which wasn't surprising for mana ice. Everyone knows you cant break, chop or melt it... only dispels will work.

'Still a powerful kick...' I let out a grumble as I rubbed my broken limb, another potion down the drain...

The surprising thing, however, was the fact Twilight was still trapped. I wasn't sure exactly how long she'd been in there... but I knew enough about magic to know this mare wasn't normal.

'First you cast a new spell like it's nothing... with absolutely no prior training' I squinted my eyes at her though the ice, focusing on her horn which was still shrouded in magic, 'Then, not only did you manage to cast it and get yourself stuck in a channel loop, but you're still somehow sustaining it after so long' I shook my head in disbelief as I gave out a sigh.

Lifting my good arm, I focused on the one spell I needed. I had a couple of magic dispels, but a lot of them were a bit... abusive to the target. There was one, however, that was relatively harmless..

Lifting my hand up, I crushed the swirling nexus of green energy in my hand as a dome of matching color sprung up around me. The bubble quickly engulfed the center of the room, and with it, the Twi-cicle itself. Once the dome reached it's full size, there was a quick flash as runes hovered just off it's surface. The effect was immediate as Twilight's horn fizzled out, and the ice surrounding her quickly dissipated.

Instead of melting, it simply shifted before fading into a blue mist as Twilight crumpled into a coughing heap onto the floor. My brow furrowed at an interesting change, the mark on her flank. Before my very eyes I watched as it disappeared, replaced by the lavender color of her coat.

Bending down, I lifted her under my good arm and carried her out of the Anti-Magic Zone. She shivered uncontrollably, until the moment I passed through the barrier. As I broke through Twilight's eyes fluttered open, her gaze quickly settling on me.

I rolled my eyes at her flustered appearance, and dropped her onto her hooves. Her legs wobbled a bit, but in an instant the orange and cyan ponies came to her side... supporting her up. I tried to focus on the exchange between them, but by now the pain rocking through my arm was far too distracting.

Ignoring the protests behind me, I quickly made my exit from the library. Many ponies had gathered outside and gasped in shock as I exited, muttering hushed words amongst each other as they took in my wounded appearance.

"Get lost!" I shouted, getting many of them to reel back.

After a few moments of silence, I could feel my anger welling up at still being watched. The steadily rising feeling of rage, compounded by the increasing pain in my arm and recent events finally sent me over the edge. The familiar cold feeling rolled over me again as my body quickly shifted, all the nearby ponies taking on looks of horror.

"I said..." I began as I dropped down on three limbs. "GO AWAY!"

I finished with a roar, and that was finally the last straw. The whole crowd burst into screams and scattered before me, as I ignored it and turned towards the nearest way out of town. A flurry of movement from the library caught my attention for a moment, as I saw Zecora, Fluttershy and Twilight all appear at the doorway.

They all glanced between me and the chaos, as I growled in annoyance and looked away. I didn't even bother reading the looks they gave me as I took off as fast as I could, taking care to not irritate my arm more than I had already. Despite my injury, my anger still boiled deep in my core... making my nerves twitch in impatience as I neared the forest.

I had to kill something, now.

Chapter 12: A Second Chance

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Chapter 12: A Second Chance

I stared into the crackling fire as I wrapped my arms around my legs, gazing into the twisting flames as they cooked away at my hunt. The unfortunate casualty of my rage came in the form of a deer, which was now spit-roasting over the campfire... most of it's discernible features already stripped away, leaving nothing but solid meat.

Having shed my Worgen form hours ago, I just sat in silence at my small camp. In only a few short days I’ve managed to ruin any good relations I may have had with these ponies… to make it even worse I only had one of my translators, effectively rendering it useless.

The sun had gone down not long after I set up camp as the night came alive with a chorus of bugs, filling the woods with an eerie white noise. Glancing to my right, my eyes settled on the remains of my first few attempts at a healing potion. A few shattered vials lay about, broken in my anger. I shook my head at the waste of materials and let out a sigh, wondering if it was a good idea to go back or not.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely my fault. After all… she struck me first. By Azerothian law I could have taken her life and been vindicated for my actions, of course as a Death Knight the law cared very little for my opinion half the time. However, I was no longer in Azeroth… and therefore had no idea how I would even settle such a dispute.

'Could have worked something out if I didn't blow up like that in front of them all...'

Reaching down, I grazed the amulet that hung from my neck… completely useless without it’s partner.

The temptation was stronger than ever, to just turn and leave this place behind. Travel far outside the bounds of this 'Equestria'. I had a map, and everything with me I owned already... after all I’d traveled most my life anyway after escaping Ebon Hold. Only really ever returning to see Syrus.

My thoughts were cut off at the sound of wings. I didn’t bother moving, just staring into the fire as the light clicking of hooves landed nearby and a warmth suddenly emanated from the amulet.

“How’d you find me.” I grumbled, still not turning to see my visitor.

“The link in this amulet can do more than just translate, if you’re clever enough.” Twilight’s voice quipped as I rolled my eyes.

“This forest isn’t a safe place for a Princess, especially alone.” I added.

There was a long silence as I watched my food cook, until Twilight slowly appeared to my right and sat on her haunches. I kept my arms wrapped around me as I glanced her way, noticing the nauseous look she dawned as she stared at the sizzling meat. Rolling my eyes, I stood from my spot and walked to the food before giving it a flip.

“You sent the whole town into a panic, you know.” Twilight finally spoke up from behind me.

Letting out a small growl, I spared her a quick glare. “Yeah? Your friend almost killed me, you know.”

Twilight recoiled a bit, pulling her hoof up to her chest. “She didn’t mean to buck you that hard! It was an accident. After I explained-“

“And that's just it, isn’t it?” I cut in, snapping around to face her and getting her wings to flutter. “After you ’explained’ it to her, right?” I paused and let out a small laugh, taunting her. “So what, I guess you’re here to come have me make up with her? And in the end we’ll all be singing songs about friendship right?” I said in a mocking tone.

Her eyes darted around for a second, as if searching for her words. “W-Well, I just thought if you two talked-“

I cut her off with a wave of my hand and a snicker. "Forget it, that's not how we do things where I'm from. I believe one shows their true colors at their most desperate... and in her I saw no hesitation in that strike." I paused and ran my hand over my chest, wincing at the phantom pain from a couple broken ribs I'd sustained from the kick as well. "I can tell when an attack had intent to kill."

She quickly shook her head. "You're wrong. It was a misjudgment of strength, she said herself she expected you to be much tougher, after being able to slay a hydra." I just ignored her, turning back to the fire. "And we're not in Azeroth, so we do this our way."

I didn't even bother gracing her with a reply, and just stared at the campfire. This must have annoyed her, because after a moment I heard her stomp in annoyance.

"So what then?" She began, getting my eyes to roll at her persistence. "This is what you really are? Incapable of having civilized conversation? Just a monster that crawls around the Everfree, killing hydras and scaring townsponies?"

"Tread carefully with your next words Princess." My voice carried an eerie calm as I slowly turned to meet her stare. "I never chose to be... this." I warned, motioning to myself.

She let out a small smile, and spoke in a soft tone. "Haven't you ever looked up to somepony? Had a dream to aspire to? Those hopes and dreams are what forge us into who we are. Sometimes all it takes is a friend to-" I cut off her speech prematurely with a glare and a hard stomp as I turned fully to face her.

"Anything I was, anything I was going to be died years ago when I awoke in that damned Necropolis!" I shouted back at her, making her shrink a bit. "I am, what he made me to be. And no matter how hard I've tried that will never change." I spit out the last few words, before shrouding myself in mist and shifting forms.

Twilight recoiled a bit, but held her ground as she tried to maintain a neutral expression.

Taking a slow couple steps towards her, I motioned to myself. "Look at me now, Princess. Tell me, what do you think I am, exactly?" My tone was low, and ended with a deep growl.

Twilight flicked her eyes over me, before locking with my own gaze. "I... I don't know..."

"They call us many names..." I began, slowly pacing around her. "You couldn't comprehend the atrocities I've committed, what I was forced to do under the fear of his wrath... a fate worse than death. No... there is no coming back from what I've done." Coming to a stop in front of her, I glanced back and saw a look of sympathy adorning her face.

"Everypony deserves a second chance." She weakly replied, eliciting a sigh from me as I shook my head.

"Wrong, Princess. There exists plenty of evil that lost their chance at redemption long ago..." I broke off my stare and focused on the ground.

She didn't answer right away, a short silence followed as I kept my gaze cast downward.

"Has anypony ever given you a second chance?" She asked in a sorrowful tone.

I felt a twinge of hesitation at the question, and looked back to her with squinted eyes. "... yes." I finally said, slowly shifting forms. "A human... her name was Syrus."

Twilight said nothing and just watched me, waiting for me to go on. I turned away from her and moved back over to the fire, hesitating for a moment as I considered sharing this story with someone else. Relaxing my clenched fists, I sighed as I made up my mind.

"I'd just escaped Ebon hold... and had been wandering for days." I began, recounting the few days after my first trip into the spirit world. "I had nothing but the torn clothes on my back and my... weapon." I bit my tongue at the word I almost uttered, cursing under my breath.

My eyes flicked over to my pouch for a moment, a sudden feeling of dread overtaking me. Taking in a deep breath, I calmed my nerves and shook my head.

‘It’s fine… it’s still there…’ I assured myself, the feeling of dread slowly receding.

Twilight either didn't notice, or didn't want to ask as I glanced back and saw her listening attentively. Turning back to the campfire, I groaned in annoyance before grasping onto the stick skewering my hunt. Removing it from the fire, I spiked it into the ground nearby before returning to the pit with a glow in my hand.

I recalled the spell she'd taught me ages ago, concentrating on the seldom used magic. With a spark of power, my hand was engulfed in green fire that lapped at my fingers painlessly. Twilight watched wide eyed as I lobbed the fire at the pit, causing it to expand and change color rapidly.

"Everyone I met either wanted to rob, hang, or eat me." I continued, staring into the fire as Twilight let out a small gasp, pulling closer to the burning image before her.

The fire danced around, reenacting the memory like a miniature play before our eyes. All of the figures were nondescript, however everything shown was indeed accurate to memory. Twilight watched the scene as I continued my story, the fire keeping up with me in earnest.

"That was... until I met her." The memory of her face flashed through my mind, and appeared in the fire for a moment before switching back to me running into a road in a panic.

Motioning to the scene, it changed to show me chasing down a carriage with a single occupant. "She was travelling down from Silvermoon City... strange for a human but it wasn't any of my business. I begged her to hide me, take me somewhere safe."

"And she did?" Twilight asked hopefully, a small smile appearing on her face.

I gave a quick laugh, getting her smile to falter. "Actually, she ran from me the first time." The scene showed the end of her carriage disappear into the flames, leaving me behind.

"That's awful!" Twilight exclaimed, getting me to shake my head.

"No, she had good reason to be afraid. It was understandable she'd run." I paused as I shifted the memory to another moment, Twilight's attention quickly becoming enraptured by the flames once more. "We met again, on the road near Darrowshire. This time under different circumstances."

The scene shifted as many twisted forms of undead rose from the flames and chased down the carriage, eventually causing it to careen off the road and flip over. Twilight watched with increasing horror as the abominations closed in on the figure as she backed into a tree. With a flourish of her arms she summoned an elemental to protect her, and the scene quickly devolved into chaos.

Twilight stared into the flames as the battle raged, undead abominations getting frozen solid and shattered by the might of the elemental or succumbing to the various spells being lobbed their way. However, all of the resistance meant nothing as a massive body, larger than any of the others, came careening towards the elemental and shattered it with it's charge.

It's body was bloated and bulged out in every direction, as if all it's flesh were simply held together with stitching. Twilight almost looked away as it's large appendage swung towards the young woman. Then, the neck of the repugnant creature violently exploded, a protruding piece of metal stuck in it’s gaping wound. The behemoth collapsed limp to the ground, revealing me hanging from the sword which had pierced it’s body.

"She gave me a chance then, let me come with her to Stormwind." The scene shifted between repairing her carriage and me hiding under it as we passed through the Stormwind gates. "I tried to live, after that. But... there's no coming back from what I am." I sighed and cut off the magic as the fire returned to normal, before turning to Twilight who's eyes still hadn't moved from the flickering flames.

"So to reiterate no, I don't believe everyone deserves a second chance." Her ears splayed back a bit, and I pinched the bridge of my nose. "But... I suppose it's unlikely a little pony like her is evil enough for that..."

Her face brightened immediately as she gave a small smile. "So that means-"

"No." I cut in with a raised finger, getting her smile to drop again quickly. "I'm not forgiving anyone right now. She still attacked me unprovoked and broke my arm, I showed you myself that I believe actions always speak louder than words." I let her process that as I grasped the stick and hung it back over the fire to cook some more. "Maybe one day she can prove to me she deserves a second chance, but for now I'm content with staying as far from her as possible. For her own safety." I spoke the last words under my breath, as I prodded the meat to test for doneness.

She waited patiently as I tested the meat, giving it a few tentative pokes. Deciding it still to raw I moved away and sat down again as she came up next to me.

I glanced her way, and could see she wasn't happy with my declaration. However she didn't continue the argument any further, much to my relief. There was another long silence as we both sat there, me staring into the fire and Twilight electing for stargazing.

“I can still teach you magic… if you want.” I finally offered, getting Twilight’s eyes to lock onto me with surprise. “You did win the bet, after all. And I’m a man of my word.”

She nodded quickly, adorning a large smile. “How about that fire spell you used? I’d never seen somepony use a spell linked directly to their memories for presentation in that way before!”

Smiling myself, I gave a little nod and reached into my pouch for something to write on. “Its a mix of arcane and fire magic, the spell’s actually an original of…” I trailed off for a moment as my smile faltered, before it returned with a sad undertone. “It was Syrus’ first original spell, she crafted it to present to a magic college.”

Twilight nodded along, before tapping on her chin. “Wow, she must be really gifted in magic! Reminds me of when I had to show off my magic for my own entrance exam.”

Nodding my head, I smiled a bit wider. “Yeah, well the story itself is pretty funny. She ended up getting in… but she was so nervous she couldn’t help but imagine the fire growing out of control and engulfing everything. And well…” I gave a chuckle, recalling the event and the huge blaze in vivid detail. “Yeah, whole building went up in flames. Nervousness and mind controlled flames don’t meld together well.” Twilight gave me a slight look of horror, to which I waved it off. “It’s okay, it was illusory fire. Harmless. And after she got it under control and gave the presentation it was a big hit.”

As I spoke I scribbled inside a small notepad, drawing up the correct Spell Matrix to show her. She read it over and, at my insistence, took the page to look at later. She also told me about her own magic experiences and mishaps, including a certain instance where she had hatched a dragon… only to accidentally accelerate it’s life to adulthood in moments! It sounded a bit far fetched to me, however considering what I’d noticed about this mare already it was safe to assume she wasn’t normal when it came to magic.

I could only imagine what some of the mages back in Stormwind would give to pick her brain with questions.

As Twilight giggled at my most recent story, I found myself starting to wish the moment would never end. It was barely a few minutes of conversation, but for only an instance I felt at peace… until a crushing feeling of guilt came washing over me and my smile quickly turned to a sad grimace.

“Twilight… I wasn’t just being dramatic when I said not everyone deserves a second chance.” I didn’t look her way as I spoke, and elected for just staring into the flames. “And I really think it would be safer for… everyone… if you forgot about me.”

She shuffled a bit next to me, until I felt a warm feathery appendage embrace me from behind. My breath hitched as I froze from the contact, but slowly relaxed as she spoke.

“I know we got off on the wrong hoof, but I don’t want you to think we can’t help you. I won’t try and change your mind about the accident, as I can tell you’re just as stubborn as her so I won’t bother.” She paused and gave me a small smirk, as I flicked my eyes to her for a moment before casting them back down. “But please, don’t torture yourself over the past… you’ve already saved two ponies from terrible fates, that doesn't sound like ‘Evil beyond redemption’ to me. Even if the methods are a bit... colorful.”

I didn’t pull away from her embrace, nor did I answer her at all. Instead I elected to just sit there staring into the swirling flames in silence, mulling over her words.

“My library is always open.” She added softly as her wing removed itself from my back and the warmth emanating from my amulet ceased.

On the corner of my vision I could see her take a few steps from the campfire, before taking off with a flap of her wings. Her movements weren’t quite as regal as many other fliers I’ve seen so far, but was definitely passable as she broke through the treetops and disappeared from view.

I sat for a while thinking on her words as I waited for my meal to cook, looking over to the necklace she’d left behind next to me.

My mind was devoid of any other thoughts as I processed the deer and wrapped the meat into small bundles of cloth, before storing it away into my pouch along with the second translator.

The night droned on as the campfire slowly reduced itself to embers, and I let out a long sigh as I gave a satisfying stretch. Multiple pops sounded from my back from the long night of sitting on the forest floor. I ignored the soreness and pulled myself to my feet and began the journey back to Zecora’s.

The trip was uneventful, the dark forest alive with the chorus of crickets and the occasional owl. It didn’t take long to reach Zecora’s hut, it’s windows aglow with a soft light which pierced through the pitch black woods.

I paused halfway across the clearing and just stared at the small door. I stood there for a while, contemplating if I really wanted to knock or not. However, my chance to make a choice was swiftly dismissed at a sudden ruckus from the doorway. Snapping my attention to the hut, I saw Zecora fumbling out the door with various packs draped over her back and a long staff.

As she cleared the doorway she ceased all of her scrambling the moment she noticed my presence. In an instant her face displayed an array of emotions, from surprise to happiness… before contorting into anger.

In a flurry of movement she crossed the clearing, shouting words of nonsense towards me as she neared.

Raising an arm up in a calming manner, I tried my best to calm her down in Equish… presenting one of the amulets in my other hand.

“Zecora, relax-“ Anything else I was going to say was swiftly cut off by a ripple of pain through my forehead.

*BONK*

I recoiled from the sudden attack, rubbing my forehead where she had smacked me with the staff which was now leaning in the groove of her shoulder. I glared back at her and got an equally irritated look back as she pointed a hoof back towards the door.

I was about to protest, but found myself unable to maintain my angry glare. Breathing a slow sigh, I took my gaze off her and entered through the door without a word. As I passed her, she swiped the amulet from my hand as I prepared for the assault about to reach my ears.

“So?” Was all that came from behind me as I entered.

“‘So’ what?” I asked glancing back for only a moment as I made my way to the table and sat down.

“‘So’ what the hay happened back there!?” I grit my teeth at her volume and flashed her an annoyed look.

“What? You mean the part where that bitch broke my arm?” As I said it, Zecora let out a small snort.

“You know what I mean Dal, everypony thought you were gonna…” She trailed off as I returned my attention to the table.

I hesitated at the nickname, before shaking my head. “Look, Twilight and I already… can we just drop this?” I asked, laying my hands flat on the table but not turning my gaze to her. “Please?”

A small silence followed, until a faint sigh reached my ears. “Okay.”

I made myself busy by taking out random tomes from my pouch and copying over various Spells, both to show Twilight later and have a reason to be busy now. Zecora didn’t say anything the rest of the night, having left the translator nearby and retired to bed shortly after our conversation. She looked beyond exhausted and more than a little ragged, I could only surmise she had been out looking for me in the forest and had just come back to resupply.

I felt a small pang of guilt run through me as I thought about that, I hadn’t intended for someone to care so much about my well being. In fact, the entire reason I was setting out from Stormwind to begin with was to protect someone who got too close to me despite my warnings… not to mention I began to care for her as well.

‘The less I push them away… the more I’ll end up hurting them’ I couldn't help but tear my gaze away from the sleeping zebra and lock onto my pouch on the table.

I felt my breath hitch as the feeling of dread from before returned with a vengeance. I found myself unable to look away, not daring to move as if it would jump the moment I so much as twitched. Eventually I felt my arm move towards the pouch, despite the alarm bells ringing in my head. Carefully pulling loose the string, the bag slacked just enough for me to reach inside.

Pushing inside, I moved past many items towards the side of the bag I seldom used. Then I felt it, my fingers brushing past a bundle of fabric and making me tense. Sparing a look back to Zecora, I could see her sleeping peacefully… oblivious to the world around her.

Returning my eyes to the small satchel, I swallowed nervously as I gripped the end of the bundled up object and slowly pulled it free. Ever so slowly it emerged from the pouch, longer than my whole arm and wrapped in white linen… bound tightly with string. As the tip of the item left the bag it suddenly returned to it’s normal weight, and I quickly brought my second hand around to support it.

I could feel my hair stand on end as a chill crept up my spine, it’d been over two years since I really looked at it…

My mouth felt dry as cool sweat rolled down my forehead, but I ignored all of it and carefully untied the thread binding the cloth together. As the knot came free the whole thing loosened and I saw a faint shimmer reveal itself, concealed under the offending material. The sudden flicker of light almost made me flinch, but I pushed on and carefully unwrapped the rest of the way.

I beheld the most unique part of my collection, in all it’s terrible glory.

My Runeblade…

I slowly brushed my fingers against the cold steel, an icy burning sensation stinging my fingertips. A never-ending mist rolled off the blade, and I could almost feel it’s hunger for blood. The sword was massive and consisted of a long sharp blade, with the exception of the part above the hilt which held many terrifying serrated edges. It’s handle appeared to be made up of strips of leather and other small bones, complete with the skull of a goat with long horns… a recurring theme in many pieces of Death Knight armaments.

I ran my digits over all the grooves of the emblem, even the elongated horns protruding from the daunting skull. I wasn’t sure what had come over me, but I had a sudden and intense urge to view the blade again… something I’ve never had before. The longer I looked at it, the more I could feel my nerves longing for battle and bloodshed.

Loyal servants... heed my call...

Snapping out of the trance I took in a sharp breath, my eyes suddenly widening as the dark thoughts pervading my mind cleared in an instant. In a flurry of movement I wrapped the blade back up, before shoving it back into it’s small tomb.

As terrible a blade as it is, I could not part with it as I figured out I needed it at least nearby to conjure my magic. Without wielding it, I lost much of my power over the risen dead, however that was a hinderance I was completely content with burdening.

After all, there were some lines I still refused to cross.

Pulling my attention away from the blade I gave a tired sigh, before giving a nod to no one. I began the process of copying over multiple spell and potion matrices to leave behind.

‘Conclude my business quickly…’ My grip tightened around the quill as I thought about all those who had died from my carelessness.

“Then leave…” I whispered with finality, making up my mind and pouring even more effort into my work.

’Never again…’

*Poke*

I blinked rapidly a few times, pulling the quill away from the page and leaning back. A stack of papers sat to my left with various spells and potion matrices written on them. Turning my head I came face to face with the sleepy eyed zebra. She clicked on the amulet and I realized I never took mine off again before I drifted off into work mode.

"Did you not sleep?" She asked, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Didn't need it." I stated, turning to the stack of papers and splitting them up.

I separated them into two piles, one for potions and another for spells. I stood from the chair and turned to Zecora before sliding a stack over to her. She looked down at the papers and furrowed her brow, before turning back to me with a look of annoyance.

"So that's it then? You're leaving?" She asked, getting a sigh and nod from me in return.

"Yes, I know I promised to teach you alchemy but there's enough lessons here for a while." I reached over to my bag and pulled out the seeds. "I'll come back to make more someday, and while I'm gone you can cultivate these for me… I’ll pay you well." I placed the small pouch of seeds next to the stack of papers. "I'm sorry, I have no choice." I finished with a defeated tone.

Moments of silence went by, until she finally moved.

In a few swift movements she grabbed up her staff she had smacked me with, along with a couple saddle bags and supplies. I watched her move about the hut with my arms crossed.

“What are you doing?” I asked her as she only spared me a glance before continuing her preparations.

“Packing.” She stated flatly.

“For?”

“We’ll need food for the trip.” She simply said as she slid random items of food into her bags.

Grabbing up my own stuff and assembling my armor, I shook my head. “Zecora I think you misunderstand, I’m leaving alone."

“You saved my life, a fact of which I’m very grateful.” She began, stopping and finally looking at me. “In my culture a debt like that must be paid in full. I'm coming. Besides, you need me.”

I scowled as I strapped my chest piece on. ”Need you? And why’s that?” I asked annoyed.

“Well, for starters you don’t even belong on this planet, so you’ll need someone to show you around… a map isn’t gonna tell you everything. Secondly, I’ll admit you seem to have picked up understanding spoken Equish rather fast, but-” She paused in front of me, poking me in the chest. “-you can’t even read or write past basic Equish print yet, and your speech needs work too.”

I gave a huff at her little jab as I tightened my gauntlets, before crossing my arms. “You have your own life to live here Zecora, you’ve no reason to uproot it to travel with a strange creature like me.”

Shaking her head back, she motioned to the varying decorations adorning her hut. “I am no stranger to travel. I lived the nomadic lifestyle for many years until I settled here in Ponyville. It was only a matter of time before I left again eventually.”

‘Just give it up you stupid Zebra you’re gonna get yourself killed’ I thought as I placed my heavy spaulders on my shoulder, adorning my full armor with the exception of my helmet.

Her persistence began to wear on my patience as I glared down at the small equine. I wanted to just tell her off, tell her there was no way it was ever going to happen. However, as I stared back at her I felt a strange sensation, the ever present longing for company that always itched the back of my mind.

As much as I’d push myself away from others, I still craved some kind of social interaction. I traveled alone wherever I went, and usually moved at my own pace. I had to admit it got exceedingly lonely… which is why I always ended up back at Stormwind with Syrus in the end.

“I’ve never… adventured in a party before.” I admitted. “I’ll be impatient, sometimes downright mean.”

“More than you are already?” She asked with a smirk, to which I rolled my eyes.

I shook my head again, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Listen, I’m not going to let you throw your life away for me like that-“

“I never said I’m doing this for you,” She cut in, tapping me on the chest a couple times with that staff of hers. “I told you already, it’s a part of my beliefs... it is a debt I must repay. If I were to not help you it would be a great weight on me during my final journey.” She finished her little spiel with a hoof over her chest.

Picking up the small pouch of seeds, I motioned to the barrel tucked into the corner of the hut. “And the herbs?”

“I’ll leave them in the hooves of the best farmpony I know. I’m sure they'll turn out great.” She answered with a smug smile.

I clenched my jaw and searched for another excuse, but couldn’t so much as begin to formulate one. I just sighed in defeat instead of answering, and made my way to the front door, pausing as I passed through it.

“…I leave tomorrow, before sunrise. Be ready.” Was all I said as I closed the door behind me.

My thoughts tormented me as I strode along the forest ground, random detritus crumbling away under my armored footfalls.

'What am I doing?' I thought to myself, walking past a particularly large patch of flowers. 'The whole point of leaving is to get away from everyone'

I sighed and glanced towards the herbs as I passed, but continued my trek forward. I wasn't about to start picking random flowers around this place, who knew the kinds of effects they may have. But I had to admit, my curiosity had been gnawing at the back of my mind to look into possible potion recipes involving them.

A particularly bright flower caught my attention for a moment, blue petals curling downwards and a few bulbs sprouting from it's center. I resisted the urge to harvest any samples and continued on to my destination.

'I'll just humor her until she fulfils this "debt" of hers' I thought with a firm nod. 'Besides, she'll be useful until I fully comprehend their language and culture'

The weight on my shoulders felt momentarily lessened as I thought up excuses for stringing her along with me. Letting out a sigh, I reflected back on the destination I had in mind for the trip.

I had been scouring the map the night prior as I worked and had decided to trek north towards the ‘Crystal Mountains’, as they were called. Apparently there resided a kingdom made of crystal, and according to the illustrations the populace themselves reflected that as well. Of course, that was likely just a stylistic choice for the map.

Along the way there were plenty of small towns and settlements to stop by and restock, maybe even look for some mercenary work... although I doubted there'd be much of that. And while it's not like I needed the money, traveling for weeks and doing nothing but stare at the sky and take in the sights can get boring rather quick.

Many of my best memories consisted of the few positive adventures I'd experienced travelling Azeroth, of course there was a heap load of bloodier ones to off-balance that fact. But here, there's a real sense of wonder to the world that wasn't present back on Azeroth. Both had their own magic to them, no doubt... however wherever I traveled in Azeroth had left me feeling... unfulfilled.

While I had no memories of my past life, travelling to 'new' places didn't feel... 'new'. It was like remembering a phantom memory. There's an ever present feeling of melancholy to each ‘new’ location I visited, and I could only guess that in my previous life I'd maybe seen it all before.

But here, everything is truly new... undiscovered from my point of view. Any and all fantastic things could be waiting outside the boundary of this small town, and once again I felt the swell of excitement inside me at the prospect of learning something new.

'Perhaps I've been looking at this all wrong, I’ve finally got a chance to start over... something that was never truly afforded to me in Azeroth.'

The trees finally broke apart as I beheld the village in the early sunlight once again, bustling with life just as it was the day before. It seems whatever day came after ‘Monday’ was just as busy as it’s predecessor. Looking ahead I could already feel the stares of the two guards stationed at the entrance to town, their eyes boring into me across the hilly meadow.

'No one here knows who I am, what I've done or where I'm from'

Of course, I hadn’t exactly left a good impression on the residents of this town. However, there existed many other settlements and cities far beyond the boundaries of this one.

Everypony deserves a second chance...

Twilights words rang through my mind, and I found my thoughts blanking on me.

Maybe, she was right after all.

The guard spoke as I neared, snapping me from my stupor. I blinked at him in confusion before motioning to repeat himself, to which he let out an annoyed snort.

“Why are you here?” He enunciated slowly.

I processed the words as he spoke, and let out a sigh as I ran my hand through my hair.

“Supplies, I’ll behave.” I assured the best I could.

The guard looked me up and down for a moment, before turning to his partner and began whispering. The two grumbled incomprehensible words to each other, whispering increasingly louder until the one I spoke to finally let out a defeated sigh.

“We’re watching.” He warned, to which I gave a curt nod.

I passed the two and hurried into town. As expected, anywhere I went was met with an instant silence, any ponies that didn’t scurry away from my presence regarded me with barely concealed fear. It bothered me, but I didn’t let it show. I’d be out of town by this time tomorrow anyway so I just focused on what I was here to do and marched on.

The library quickly came into view, my first stop. Coming up to the door, I stopped as it swung open and a certain cyan mare trotted out with a book balanced on her muzzle… an excited grin on her face.

Said grin fell almost as fast as the book, which quickly tipped off her muzzle and dropped to the ground. I just crossed my arms and waited for her to move aside, rapping my fingers against my arm. A second later she blinked and broke from her stupor, grabbing up the small book in her mouth and taking off into the air.

I watched her rocket off, a little surprised by the speed at which she tore through the air. A part of me wanted to question how she could attain such velocity with those proportionally smaller wings, however a larger part of me pushed the curious thoughts from my mind as I regarded the sign just outside.

I could now read it, and carefully scanned the words adorning the sign.

Golden Oaks Library

If the librarian is in, we’re open!

(Please open half door if returning books, thank you!)

‘Golden Oaks… hilarious.’ I couldn’t help but snicker a bit at the pun, and pushed onwards into the door.

It swung silently on it’s hinges, and I ducked into the small opening before standing to my full height once more. Twilight was on the other side of the room, flying next to a bookcase and in the process of sliding a tome back in… looked like the same one that pegasus had taken with her. Sitting nearby at a table was Silversong, rolling her hoof in circles with a look of boredom on her face.

However her attention snapped over to me as the door clicked shut, before quickly waving at me with a smile. Awkwardly I waved back as Twilight took notice of me from across the room. Hurriedly stuffing the book away she soared across the library before landing with a bit of a stumble between the table and myself

“Tea?” She asked as a flurry of floating objects whizzed through the air and settled onto a table.

‘What's with these ponies and tea…’ I thought to myself as I shook my head, waving away the offer.

She stopped halfway through pouring a cup and hesitantly nodded as everything disappeared in a flash, electing a *humph* from the nearby guard. I glanced over all the walls, each adorning endless rows of literature. As if feeling the oncoming question, she motioned to the many books.

“Need help looking?” She asked, as I nodded and pulled out the translator.

That's when I realized I only had the one, the other still residing with Zecora when I left in a hurry. I cursed under my breath, before letting out an annoyed sigh.

“Yes, need… word book.” I shook my head and waved the request away, “No… spelling book.” I growled again, “Book with words!”

“A dictionary?” She asked hesitantly as I snapped my fingers.

“Yes! Anything else recommend? Have to learn.” The moment I asked, her features lit up as she scurried over to the shelves… horn alight.

“First you’re gonna want the latest edition Dictionary but a Thesaurus wouldn’t hurt either… and you can’t forget ‘My First Equish Lesson’, oh that's a classic-“ Then I felt it, my eyes glazing over while her words devolved into a jumble of unintelligible jargon and white noise… the books stacking ever higher on the table.

Eventually it all came to a end as the various bundles of literature were piled neatly on the table, at least twelve in total.

“How long were you planning on taking them out?” She asked, a small notebook and quill floating in her magical grasp.

“Long.” I said, to which she just stared blankly, waiting for me to elaborate.

When I didn’t she just slowly nodded, muttering a small ‘Uh huh’ under her breath as the quill quickly scribbled out a specific line on the page.

Book by book she picked them up and stamped the inside with ink, before setting them in a separate pile nearby. As she worked on the books, I reached into my own pouch and pulled out the Spell Matrices I’d been working on. Setting them on the table, she paused to look at them for a moment before turning back to me with curious eyes.

“Leaving for long time.” I pointed at the books, then to the pages. “Will come back, teach you more. Those all safe to test.” I finished, motioning to the pages again for emphasis.

The hovering notepad shifted to the side as she leaned over the table, spreading out the spells and looking them over. I’d written up a mixture of different spells, it would be interesting to hear which ones she was able to cast easily and which she wasn’t. As of yet I haven’t been able to nail down her affinity, but she may be the best as a mage considering her impressive mana reserves.

Sliding the books one by one into my pouch I turned to her again. “Where can I find, carriage seller… and blacksmith?”

Pointing her hoof out the window, she motioned back in the direction of that farm on the outskirts of the village. “The apples do repairs on carriages for the whole town, but they sell some too. As for a blacksmith you’d want to talk to Aegaeon a couple doors down from Sugarcube Corner. Just head right from here and you should see it. If you pass a building that looks like a gingerbread house… you’ve gone too far.” I nodded as I processed her words, before tying up my pouch and making my way back to the door.

“Thanks.” I said as I made my way out as she waved goodbye to me.

As I pulled the door open I hesitated for a moment, before turning back to her and letting out a sigh.

“Twilight.” I began, thinking about how to word it. “About… before.” I glanced over to where the shattered form of a table used to reside and cringed. “Sorry. Not real me.”

Twilight looked taken aback for a moment, before she gave me a soft smile and nodded. “Apology accepted. Have a nice trip, Dalandor!”

Hesitantly I smiled back, before closing the door behind me softly. Glancing around, I sighed in relief and began a brisk pace towards the direction Twilight had mentioned. Ponies still parted or crossed the road as I approached, but none were darting away from just my presence alone… unless I looked at them that is.

In no time the signature smell of iron and fire rolled into one assaulted my nose as I approached a building much different than the surrounding structures. It was very open, giving a lot of space to any who worked under the slanted roof. A lone anvil lay in the middle of the room with a roaring forge built into the far wall. Many other tools and equipment lay nearby but my focus was quickly locked on the figure currently holding a glowing red rod and careening towards me.

“Move it yeh sickly bastard!” The gryphon croaked as he approached me.

I jumped out of the way as he passed and set the item on the anvil, his talons scraping across the smooth stone flooring as he walked. The feathers all over his head and chest were black, with many greys mixed in throughout. His wings were also black but transitioned into a silver color near the tips.

I watched as he expertly cut the rods into equal lengths, positioning the hot metal with his talons. In a quick few strikes he processed the pieces, before setting the newly formed nails aside. Pushing them around a bit, he grumbled as he looked them over. With a small nod he finally turned to me and raised a brow, dunking the tips of his talons into a nearby bucket of water… eliciting a small sizzle and puff of steam.

“Can I help yeh?” He asked with a raised brow, flicking any excess liquid from his paw.

“Need new gear, sell armor?” I asked, crossing my arms and leaning against a pillar of wood holding the roof up.

The gryphon scratched at a couple feathers on his chin as he looked me over, grumbling to himself as his eyes scanned me up and down.

“Hmmm, yer the strangest lookin’ taur’ I’ve seen in a while. Lookin’ a bit pale as well son. You feelin’ okay?” He quipped before turning away from me and fiddling with some parchments on a nearby table.

“Strangest… what?” I asked in confusion.

Looking at me again, he tilted his head. “Well that’s what’cha are, ain’t it? A Minotaur? You’ve got the same build, unless yer one a them cats which lost all it’s hair.”

Shaking my head, I sighed. “No I’m... human. Again... here for armor.” I stated annoyed, electing another scratch from his chin feathers.

“Well, spose’ I could do armor. Iffin you’ve got the money.” He trailed on, looking towards me.

“Money not problem.” I said, gesturing to my pouch.

He hummed to himself, looking me all over. “Well, If it’s ta replicate that rubbish I think not.” He stated pointing at my plate mail armor.

“What wrong with it?” I asked confused, getting a exaggerated wave from him.

“Please, half of yer vital spots aren’t even covered.” He began, moving towards me and pointing at various spots in my armor. “Gap in the neck’s too big, an’ whoever sized the breast plate needs their eyes checked.”

Shaking my head, I motioned to the armor. “Has to be shaped this way.”

“Why’s that?” He asked, curiously.

Shifting my gaze behind me and noting all the ponies milling about, I motioned further into the blacksmith hut. He looked at me curiously, but followed me in as I hid from view of the outside streets. Once I was certain no one else would see, I allowed myself to switch back to my Worgen form.

My figure grew in size rapidly as I quickly filled in the spacious plate coverings, the rest being hugged tightly by the chain mail hanging from them. The gryphon watched me for a moment with a blank expression, before whistling in a low note.

“Now that’s somethin’ you don’t see everyday.” He joked with a chuckle. “Well, it’s none of my business anyway. If you’ve got the coin I’ve got the steel.”

I was taken aback by the tame reaction he had to my shift, but didn’t let my surprise show as he ushered me through a door and into the small building connected to the smithy hut.

“Surprisingly calm.” I added in my gravely voice as I shifted back into my human form and clicked the door shut behind me.

“I’m not a pony, son. Takes more than a sharp set of teeth to get my feathers ruffled.” He joked with a chuckle, as he struck a match and sparked it to life. “Name’s Aegaeon Steeltalon, by the way.” He added as he leaned over towards an unlit lantern.

The lantern quickly cast a orange glow on the room, revealing the interior of what was presumably a workshop of some kind. He ushered me over to a nearby table which held many different pieces of parchment, some more scribbled than others.

Setting down the lantern with a small clink he turned to me and squinted. “Hmm… so you need somethin’ fer both forms aye?” He asked as he scratched at his chin feathers once again.

Moments of silence went by, before he gestured to a nearby crate by the table… low enough to sit on. “Well, lets talk business.”

I strode across the dirt path leading out of town, the clear blue sky giving way for the afternoon sun as it beamed down on me relentlessly. I could see the farm in the distance, the same farm I’d stolen from during my first couple days here. I cringed at the memory and hoped it wouldn’t come back to bite me in the ass.

Aegaeon and I had worked out a deal, of course he told me he isn’t gonna do any casting until he sees the money for himself.

I understood his caution, after all it’s not every day you go from making iron nails to getting a full armor commission. I decided against showing him the gold coins, after all I didn’t have to pay for anything yet… and over my travels I may end up accruing enough bits to use as payment. Whether it’s from random work or slowly exchanging some gold here and there along the way.

Meanwhile it’d also give him time to draw up plans for the set, more specifically to solve the problem of fitting two different forms… though he assured me he’d have something ‘brilliant’ by the time I returned to Ponyville.

I gave a snort of annoyance and shook my head. ‘For the asking price, it’d better be brilliant.’

Another thing I learned today about this world is the price for armor was… actually a bit higher than I expected, though not as much as it would cost in Azeroth funnily enough. At first I was a bit startled by the absurd number he gave me… a whopping 540,000 bits. After the initial shock from hearing the gargantuan number receded and I did the math, I found that worked out to about 1800 gold total. With each gold piece weighing one ounce it made the conversions much easier, that's for sure.

He said 500,000 would cover armor costs, with the other 40k going towards ‘research costs’, as he put it. Said he’ll need to use extra material to try and figure out a design that’d accommodate my… needs. The metalworking business was never really my expertise so I just went with whatever he suggested, of course I’ll be comparing his prices to others on my travels… just in case I am being ripped off.

A lone shadow crawled across the ground, pulling my attention to the sky as a single cloud drifted by. It looked quite out of place in the empty horizon but I paid it no more mind, it was just a cloud after all.

As I neared the farmland I noticed the path split off into two, one leading to the left and into the apple trees, while the other led up towards some farmhouses. I elected for the latter and pressed on, until I spotted a slow moving green figure in the distance just outside what looked to be a huge three story house.

I quickened my pace, and moved to wave at the figure who quickly noticed me and signaled me over. I approached her and quickly noticed she looked much older than any other I’d met so far. She was a light lime green color with an orange scarf wrapped loosely around her neck.

“Howdy there, sonny. Come help these old bones would ya?” Her shaky voice asked as she lifted a hoof towards me.

I leaned down towards her and lowered a hand, holding her hoof as she slowly climbed the stairs.

“Ma-am, I-“

“Eh?!” She cut me off as soon I spoke, craning her neck up as she looked at me in confusion. “Sorry young’in, you’ll have ta’ speak up. Mah hearin’ ain’t what it used ta’ be.”

“I’m here to purchase a carriage!” I stated in a raised tone, getting the mare to recoil a bit.

“Pear ridge? Fraid you’re a long way from Van Hoover. This here’s Sweet Apple Acres….” She said with a scowl as she shakily made her way to the front door.

“No, I said I’m here for a carriage!” I shouted louder, this time electing a surprised look from her.

“While I appreciate yer forwardness an ol’ mare like me ain’t fit for marriage anymore.” She replied with a small laugh as I facepalmed.

“For the love of… CARRIAGE! Here to buy a CARRIAGE!” I was well above a yell at this point as the old mare took on a look of realization.

“Well, why didn’t you just say so!” Turning around, she motioned over to a barn across from the house. “You’ll have ta’ talk to Big Mac fer that. You’ll find him in the barn iffin you fancy yerself a carriage.”

The shaky mare hummed to herself and slowly made her way through the front door as I stood there silently, until the screen door slamming shut pulled me from my stupor. I shook my head and peered over to the nearby barn, before shrugging and making my way over. I could hear the tell-tale sounds of construction as I neared, the pounding of a hammer striking lumber reaching my ears quickly.

Stopping at the doors, I raised my hand and rasped loudly on the flaky red paint. The chorus of bangs ringing inside the barn ceased in an instant, until heavy hoofsteps lumbered towards the door. With a loud creak the right door swung inward as a pony I recognized from before popped their head out, their orange mane sticking to their face as sweat rolled down his forehead.

He looked me over curiously, before blowing a lock of hair out of his face and watching me expectantly.

“Big mac?” I asked, getting a single slow nod from him.

“Eeyup.” He stated simply.

I pointed a thumb behind me. “Old lady say you sell carriages?”

He looked me up and down, before nodding again and swinging the doors in fully. The inside of the barn was seemingly divided in two, with one half containing various baskets filled to the brim with delicious looking apples, and the other sporting various different carriages. Many had a tarp covering them, and the few that didn’t seemed to have work being done on them… various tools strewn about nearby.

“Have a preference?” He asked as he sauntered over to the aforementioned vehicles.

Gripping each tarp with his teeth, he pulled them off and revealed the treasure underneath. They ranged from a simple open back loading trailer, to full blown coach.

Scratching my chin, I pointed to the latter designs. “Something big. Lots of space.” He nodded as he moved to pull off another tarp. “Light too. Easy to pull.” I added, getting him to look at me again before nodding once more.

I looked them over, my eyes drifting across the display ranging from the smallest wagon to the largest coach.

“The price ranges from 1500 bits,” He began while motioning to the smallest vehicles, before moving towards the largest. “-up to 75,000.”

I squinted at the prices he offered me, and motioned to the largest coach. “Seems cheap. Armorer wanted… over five hundred thousand?”

Big mac gave me a weird look, before shaking his head. "Ponyville’s lucky to have Aegaeon, Forge workers in Equestria are rare. Not many ponies buyin’ steel, 'specially armor. Lumber on the other hoof-“ He paused as he tapped his hoof on the nearby wooden coach, eliciting a solid thunk. “Always in supply.”

‘Even still… seems awful cheap’

After another pause, Big Mac let out a sigh. “And… we gotta move these soon.” He admitted. “Need the money.”

I neared the carriages and examined them each closely, they definitely weren’t shoddily made that's for sure. Everything looked like solid craftsmanship.

“Fields huge, feeds whole town. Why need money?” I asked, glancing back to the pony. “Sorry, too personal.” I admitted sheepishly as I turned my attention back to the vehicles.

The pony waved off the apology as we stopped next to the largest coach in the lineup. “S’fine. Truth is this year’ll be a tough one. Mah sis hurt her leg not too long ago and I’ve had to do all the apple buckin’ myself.” He sighed as he shook his head, flicking the loose orange hair from his face. “Thought she was gettin’ better and not strainin’ herself, but yesterday she came home limpin’ all over again… hasn’t talked to me bout it yet.”

I nodded as I focused on keeping up with his words as my hand slid down the solid oak coach, sanded down to a perfect smooth texture.

“How’s this one?” I asked suddenly, patting the exterior of the largest coach.

Mac sauntered over to me, and pulled the side door open. As it swung free a small set of steps slid out from the bottom, allowing easy access to the interior. Using one hand to brace against the side, I pulled myself up and into the innards of the large coach and was pleasantly surprised with the spacious interior.

“This is first in the ‘Voyager’ series.” He gave a tug at a rope on the wall, and a bed unfolded from the flat surface. “Has everything a traveler would need.” I watched him pull different compartments open one by one, ranging from a table and chairs to various storage compartments.

I glanced at the oaken frame in worry. “Looks heavy.”

He shook his head and tapped his front hoof on the wooden floor, electing a few solid thuds. “It’s got all the standard enchantments.” He answered simply.

I gave him a curious look, and after a few moments of silence he pointed at the floorboards again.

“Propelled axle and the titan suspension enchantments. This baby could prolly haul a dragon with jus’ a single driver.” He stated proudly. “This one’s 75,000 bits.”

Nodding my head I ran the numbers through my head… 250 gold pieces.

I hopped out of the coach with him close behind. “Will take. Can pay now?”

“Well, spose’ we could.” Mac answered with a shrug as he walked over to the barn doors. “How will ya be payin? Check or bits?”

Shaking my head, I pulled my pouch free from my waist. “Will take gold?” I asked hesitantly.

Mac stopped for a second and cocked his head. “…gold? Well… I don’t see why not. Long as it’s the real deal.”

We both exited the barn, and I followed him towards the house the elderly pony had entered. We made it to the door as he held it open, motioning me inside. I hesitantly passed him and ended up in a spacious room with the lime green pony I saw before, sitting in a rocking chair in the corner and snoring loudly.

A thud from behind me caught my attention as I spotted Mac by a table, pulling out what seemed like a weight scale, before waving for me to come closer. I quickly crossed the room and set my pouch on the table, before reaching in for a gold coin.

“Gold is at… 315 bits per ounce. How much ya want to trade?” He asked as I pulled out a single coin.

“Pay for all, each coin should be… one ounce.” I answered as I set the coin on the scale.

The coin perfectly levelled out with the counterbalance as Mac looked closer at the coin. “That's a… strange lookin’ coin. Never seen one like that.”

“From home.” I answered quickly. “Far from here.”

He hummed to himself, before reaching for the coin. He paused and looked towards me, as if asking for permission. I nodded for him to continue as he picked it up and walked off towards the room the elder pony had been sleeping in. I waited patiently at the table in silence, until he came back a few minutes later with the gold coin in his teeth.

Dropping it on the table with a metallic clink, he sighed. “Well, it’s real gold at least. Sure you wanna pay with this? Price of gold’s always climbing.” He asked in a worried tone.

I began sliding more coins out of my pouch and towering them nearby, counting them as I did. “Yes, only money I have.”

I didn’t bother to account for the fifteen bit difference, and instead just stuck to the ‘300 bits per coin’ method for now… I didn’t really care about losing a couple extra gold if it meant avoiding the headache of converting the odd numbers. There were many things I was great at, and math wasn’t one of them.

With each coin I stacked higher the stallion’s curious gaze turned more and more bewildered. I stopped at 250, a nice pile of gold coins now stacked neatly in the center of the table. I reached into the pouch one last time, pulling out a small red vial and setting it next to the pile.

“What's this?” He asked curiously, motioning towards the vial.

“First arrived, stole from you.” I admitted, getting a surprised look from the pony. “Took apples, was lost… sorry.” Tapping on the glass I quickly rolled it over to him. “Will heal user. For sister.”

Stopping the rolling potion with his hoof, he shook his head. “I appreciate the honesty, and the offer… but-“ I cut him off with a shake of my own head.

“Just take. Have plenty more.” I added sternly, getting his hard look to falter after a moment with a sigh. “Safe, promise. Gave to Zecora, guard pony too.” As I said this he looked over the vial again, before picking it up once more and staring into the swirling crimson liquid.

I pulled his attention from the potion as I motioned to the front door. “Can’t take today, can come tomorrow? Before sunrise?” I asked, getting a delayed nod from him.

“Eeyup. Not a problem, I’ll be up then.” He let out a sigh, before setting the potion next to the pile of gold. “I appreciate the generosity, mister…?”

“Dalandor.” I answered quickly, getting a slow nod from him.

“Well then, Dalandor. The Apple Family thanks ya for your business.” He finished with a lifted hoof, which I grasped and shook firmly as he motioned to the potion. “Never heard of a potion healing somepony before. Where’d you get it?”

Leaning back, I reached into my pouch and held a couple more in my hand. “Alchemist. Made myself.”

He looked a bit hesitant at first, before smiling and giving me a single nod. I said my goodbyes quickly and made my way out of the house, eager to finish my last task and rest. My exhaustion was finally catching up to me, having spent the whole night writing out spells and potion matrices… I was finally feeling the creeping tiredness gnawing at my consciousness I’d ignored until now.

Shaking my head and clearing the haze starting to take hold, I followed the path down to my last destination. The afternoon was alive with all walks of life, from birds streaming past and into the forest to various critters racing along the grass. The abundance of these creatures only seemed to increase the closer I got to my destination, and before long I could see it just ahead… a small river flowing around it gracefully.

Steeling myself, I made my way over the small bridge and towards the front door. Knocking lightly, there was a few moments of silence until the door creaked open and a familiar set of eyes peered out at me in surprise. The door opened quickly as Fluttershy gave me a warm smile.

She didn’t say anything, but waved me to come in. I slowly knelt down and crawled into the half sized door before standing to full height. I was still a bit taken back by how much room there was in here, it was like she was planning on having a bear over for lunch or something.

Fluttershy quickly shut the door behind me, before pointing over to a nearby couch which held a single occupant. Before I could say anything she flapped her wings and took off into another room. I blinked owlishly, before looking at the creature on the couch. It was one hundred percent the oddest thing I’ve seen here so far, and it seemed to share that thought as it looked me over with it’s own curious eyes.

It’s body was skinny like a snake with brown fur, yellow eyes containing crimson irises that bored into me. His parts were all mismatched, as if some lunatic had created it in a fit of pure insanity… adorning all manner of parts from various species.

“And just who may you be?” The strange creature hissed as he stuck his nose up a bit, before a flash of light conjured a monocle and ridiculous looking top hat on his form.

I shook my head at his sudden appearance, but before I could say anything Fluttershy came gliding back into the room... a large glass bowl in tow.

"Sorry Discord, he can't understand you. He doesn't speak Equish." She said softly as she placed the bowl down on a nearby table.

Discord rolled his eyes before snapping his fingers, instantly conjuring a variety of vegetables in the large dish.

I stared down at the food in curiosity. 'Mana food? Strange...'

I reached down and snatched a piece that looked to be a cut carrot stick. I tentatively took a bite, before my eyes suddenly bulged... I couldn't taste any mana at all.

It was real. This creature had just created actual food out of magic, something that should have been impossible.

A mage could conjure food and water, feed and hydrate himself for days... maybe even weeks. However it all comes at a price, as the food does not truly sate your hunger, nor does the water quench your thirst completely. It all just staves off the inevitable, eventually you'd have to eat real food.

"Can talk, little bit." I finally spoke, catching Fluttershy off guard for a moment.

"Oh! Wow you learned so fast, good job!" She said enthusiastically as Discord just squinted his eyes at me.

"How you make this?" I questioned him, motioning to the bowl of food.

He gave me an even weirder look, before snapping his fingers again. Suddenly the food all came to life, the carrots screaming, the grapes bouncing around and the dip... the dip was growing.

"I can make anything, thank you very much. It just so happens today it's just normal food." He sighed, snapping his fingers again and reverting the food back to normal. "For Fluttershy."

I blinked at the creature, whatever he was… he didn't exactly seem stable. Something about his demeanor told me he was constantly moments away from snapping. From the way he twitched around at every noise, his eyes constantly swiveling… examining everything around him. Sometimes it felt like he was looking at me even when he wasn't, he carried a strange aura with him that’s for sure.

"We were just starting our tea party, we have one every Tuesday evening." Fluttershy spoke as she began pouring steaming liquid into a couple cups. "You're welcome to join us… if you want to that is."

I just shook my head, motioning to the armor I was still wearing. "Can't, sorry. Have… order?" I asked, getting Fluttershy to let out a small gasp.

"Oh! Yes, I do. She dropped them off this morning." In just a few moments she brought out a cardboard box and presented it to me.

I gently took it from her, before peeking in the top and noting the muted colors of the clothes. I breathed a silent sigh of relief, it seems she kept her word and stayed away from the bright colors. Closing the box shut, I stuffed it into my pouch and reached down to her. I gave her another scratch behind the ears, and it elected the same response it had last time only even more intense.

She cooed and pushed her head into my hand as I remembered the first time I did this, letting out a small smile at the cute display. "Thanks yellow." I said softly, before looking back up to Discord again.

'He looks kinda mad' I noted as he glared at me from the couch.

I quickly cut off my petting, much to her displeasure, and made my way back to the front door.

"Long trip. Gone for a while, can ask for something?" I asked Fluttershy, getting a quick nod from her.

"Sure, what did you need?" She asked innocently.

"Socks." I said simply, pointing to my feet. "Have measurements, yes?"

She blinked at me owlishly for a moment, before sputtering. "Y-yes, I d-do."

Giving her another nod, I gave one last look to Discord... who hasn't stopped glaring at me.

Without another word, I closed the door behind me and began my trek out of town. I had no specific destination in mind as the sun slowly crossed the sky, after all… I had the rest of the day to occupy myself yet had no work left to do. Eventually I happened upon a particularly large hill, climbing to the top and laying down on the soft green grass.

I stared up into the sky, watching as patches of clouds slowly blanketed the horizon. Not many, but enough to consider a storm a possibility. That's when I noticed the clouds weren't really forming... but being placed. Before my very eyes I watched as a pegasus physically moved a cloud and placed it somewhere in the sky.

I burned the rest of the daylight watching the pegasi work. It was almost entrancing as the sky slowly disappeared behind a cobweb of clouds. I stayed there all day, all the way until the clouds blotted out the light and the sound of crickets ignited the atmosphere around me.

Hours passed like minutes, and before long I awoke to a sudden drop of water on my head. I blinked, before sitting up and looking around. I’d fallen asleep at some point, the world having raced by me as I slept peacefully…

Another drop of water landed on me, followed by a steadily increasing rate of the offending liquid soon after. I didn’t mind the rain, it actually felt kind of soothing as it made small pitter-patter's off my armor. Slowly, I pulled myself to my feet and began my walk back to the farm. Each step pounded in my ears, drowned out only by the torrent of water crashing around me. So many emotions ran through me at once, anxiety, anticipation… but most of all I was excited.

This was it.

Time to start over.

Interlude: The Heart of Eternity

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Interlude: The Heart of Eternity

Perspective: Celestia {Over the Equestrian Ocean}

The muscles in my back burned with each flap, the sound of wind rushing past me as I soared over the water. Luna and I had been flying for the better part of the last two days, only resting intermittently to relax our tired wings. I cast a look to my left and saw Luna keeping pace with me, looking much less exhausted than I but still rather strained.

We both let out audible sighs of relief at the large island finally appearing in the distance, massive waves crashing into it’s shattered shores.

The island itself was uncharted and it’s existence was a closely held crown secret. Even if it were to be discovered, it proved far too dangerous to explore due to the miles of razor sharp rocks which jutted out from the waters like spears. Violent winds tore around it’s shores and would throw all but the most experienced fliers into a tailspin, before meeting a violent end under the foamy white waters below.

Finally having arrived at the end of our long journey, we both cast each other a single look before nodding and setting our horns alight. They glowed brightly with magic as the world was suddenly bathed in a soft orange glow, the sun delicately descending over the horizon... before the moon slowly took it's place and cast a ghostly light across the water.

With great effort we made it to the coast and collapsed onto the rocky sand. I ignored the sharp stones digging into my legs and instead focused on controlling my breathing, I hadn’t had a workout like this in a long time!

“Maybe you should do some cardio sister, you seem a tad winded.” Luna’s voice quipped from my right. “One too many royal deserts it seems?”

Turning to my sister I saw her looking at me from the sand, a bit winded but otherwise completely fine. Meanwhile I was sweating up a storm and every muscle was practically screaming for a massage… but I wouldn’t admit that to her.

I gave an annoyed snort, lifting a hoof to my breast. “Actually, I’ve been doing wonderfully at sticking to my diet.” I stated matter-o-factly.

“Obviously. Anyways, shall we continue?” She asked with a tilt of her head, before standing and trotting inland.

I followed her closely as the ground changed from it’s mix of sand and rocks to a twisting mess of dirt and vines. The jungle was dense, the large trees towered up into the sky as it’s roots covered almost everything in a layer of vegetation. There wasn't a single sign that another pony had been here recently... or even at all.

'Perhaps we need not worry after all...'

We both stuck close, Luna’s horn aglow as the light level slowly decreased the deeper into the towering spires we ventured. Eventually the jungle receded in favor of strange rock formations and sheer mountainous cliffs. Hundreds of cave entrances littered the walls, however one stood out particularly well. Any passerby may had simply ignored the cave as nothing seemed out of the ordinary. However, to an Alicorn, it’s a different story.

Tendrils of white light billowed out of a cave roughly a hundred feet up, a small distance compared to the massive height of the wall it was nestled in. The strands of light leaked from the hole and dissolved into the air, a feeling of static causing me to shudder as we flew towards the entrance. Touching down in it's maw, we wasted no time in following it's twisting and jagged corridor deeper into the pitch darkness.

The cave descended sharply down into the depths of the island, Luna’s horn casting a blue shine over the moist walls. Every step I took echoed through the cavern, followed by the occasional sound of dripping water.

“Are you sure he was from beyond the veil, sister?” Luna asked suddenly, craning her head around to meet me.

Nodding, I sighed. “Without a doubt. As I said before, his aura was unwavering. I just pray the heart is still safe.”

Luna just nodded and continued on, inching a bit closer to me as the walls tightened. One of the bands of energy which flowed up and out of the cave broke apart like mist as I walked through it, a feeling of pins and needles washing over my leg. Small pieces of rock jutted out from the wall, occasionally scratching and marking my pristine coat. I didn’t let my annoyance show on my face as we both descended into the depths of the cave, until the narrow passage suddenly opened into a large cavern with a massive pool of crystal clear water in the center.

The ceiling of the cavern was so high I could barely see it, with the exception of intermittent sparkles from water as it dripped from scattered stalactites. The very center of the room contained the object we traveled so far to see, floating just an inch off the water.

Hovering just above the liquid was a massive stone sphere, slowly spinning in place as runes etched all over it pulsed with a brilliant light. Wisps of bright energy poured from cracks in the stone and delicately bounced off the water before dispersing around the cavern.

“Something is wrong.” I said low, stopping just before the water. "Can you feel it?" I asked as Luna came up next to me.

"Yes... it's lost a lot more power this time." Luna stated with a nod.

With a small flash of her glowing horn, she took a tentative step onto the water. Her hoof stopped on the still liquid with a small click, before the rest followed suit. I felt a tingle in my hooves as she flashed me a look, eliciting a smirk from me.

"Show off." I replied with an eye roll. "You were reading through some of Starswirl's old scrolls again weren't you?" I tsked in mock disapproval.

She nodded and smiled proudly. “Of course. Not using his life's work would be a waste of his knowledge, as he always told us,-”

"'The spark of magic lies in us all, we need only seek it's wisdom.' I know, Luna." I cut in with a small chuckle.

She didn't say anything, and elected for sticking her tongue at me for a moment. I just shook my head before hesitantly following her onto the water. Just like Luna’s, my hoof stopped on contact as if it was solid ground. With each step a barely noticeable ripple emanated out and across the pool, slightly disturbing it’s tranquil stillness.

I gingerly followed behind Luna, slowly advancing on the imposing object floating ahead. With every inch closer I could feel my coat stand on end as the feeling of static slowly filled the air once again. There was no doubt about it now, something had weakened the heart.

Stopping just a couple feet away I carefully scanned the various runes on it’s surface as I had many times before, having to crane my neck to read them all due to it's height towering over me at an impressive eight feet. I raised my hoof and carefully set it on the cold stone surface and closed my eyes. I could feel the hum of power inside along with a faint beating sensation, from which the anomaly was presumably named after.

“It’s always lost power, albeit slowly.” Luna began, slowly walking around the heart. “But something must be wrong, I can feel it’s magical reservoir has been drained substantially. Sister,” Luna paused for a moment from the other side of the heart. “With what power it has left… losing the veil is now a very real possibility. No... It's an inevitability!”

I didn’t want to believe her words, but there was no other conclusion I could reach myself. Something had drained the heart of much of it’s magic, and now all of Equestria… no all of Equis was in danger.

“We could try recharging it again?” I asked hopefully.

“We both know it won’t work. We tried that the first time we found out the heart was losing it’s magic.” She answered as she appeared from around the large orb once more, eliciting an annoyed stomp from me and causing a small splash... momentarily forgetting about the water.

“Do you remember the prophecy mother and father left us?” She asked suddenly.

I nodded slowly, casting my gaze into the water. “Yes… I do. ‘When shadow consumes the light during your darkest hour, salvation will come in the guise of Death’s Servant.’ Still sounds like more of a warning than a prophecy to me."

The ‘Prophecy’ left behind by our parents was straightforward yet vague. Our 'Savior' would be a 'Servant of Death?' None of it made sense nor inspired hope in me for the future, however it was all the information we had.

Luna nodded sorrowfully, arriving back at my side and sighing as she also placed her hoof on the large floating orb.

“It seems our time is running out faster than we imagined, we must find this ‘Servant of death’ before it is too late.” I nodded in agreement, but before I could reply she turned to me with a wild look. “Tia, somethings happening!” She yelled suddenly, getting me to jump and splash a bit of water.

Before I could touch the stone myself, it suddenly stopped rotating.

Never, in all the many times and countless years I’ve visited and tested this artifact, had I ever seen it do anything other than float in place. I took a step back, as did Luna, while it slowly began to rise higher into the air. We both backed up, eyes glued to the large orb as the runes tattooed all over it began to brighten.

“Luna!” I yelled to my sister, who appeared by my side in an instant as my horn engulfed in magic.

A golden barrier projected around us, and we both watched as the light emanating from the heart increase in severity, until it became nearly blinding. I could feel a warmth through the shield as it washed over me, however it had a pleasant feel to it… almost soothing. Then in an instant, it all stopped. The cavern plunged into darkness as the heart's light went out completely for a moment, before a violent burst of light exploded from the floating orb and rocketed towards us.

It happened so fast I didn’t even have time to react as my shield washed away like it was nothing, melting before my eyes against the endless current of white glow. I was bathed in the light completely for a moment, and I thought for sure any second the painful heat would begin to scorch my coat… however no such feeling ever arrived.

Instead a presence wrapped around my neck and draped a warmness over my back, causing my breath to hitch from the sensation. My mind told me it was impossible, whatever I was feeling right now was a fluke, or a trick from the spell... however the warmth I felt in it's embrace felt so familiar. The moment transpired in the blink of an eye, but for me it felt like an eternity as my body attempted to embrace the presence back. Before I could move however the moment ended, and so did the spell holding me above the water at the same time.

Freezing water rushed to meet me as I plunged down into it’s depths. I splashed around in surprise for a moment, before quickly righting myself and breaking through the waters surface. I kept myself afloat there as I scanned the water, before plucking Luna out with my magic and bringing her to the edge with me. Setting her down on the stone ground I climbed out nearby and quickly moved to check her over.

“Thanks.” Luna grumbled as she lit her own horn, pushing the water off herself as it quickly turned to steam.

I did the same and felt the coldness evaporate off me in seconds, my coat and wing feathers quickly drying off. Turning back to the heart I stared across the now disturbed water and took in it's new appearance.

“What happened?” I asked, examining the floating orb and noting it’s substantially weaker glow.

I could feel an intensity in the air that was absent before, a powerful spell had just been cast… that was for certain. Magic was scattered about the cavern in various forms, from wisps of light darting around to the vegetation of the cave walls quickly producing glowing spores. If the residual magic alone was enough to do all this... just how powerful a spell had been cast?

Then like a light switch, my focus sharpened. I squinted towards the dulling orb, before spinning on my hooves and marching towards the way we came in.

"We haven't much time sister." I began, looking back to Luna as her own gaze tore away from the heart. "We must find this 'Salvation' the prophecy spoke of. Perhaps this Dalandor is related somehow, his presence is far too much a coincidence to let it slide."

Luna nodded quickly, trotting up to my side as we ascended the cave. "Agreed. This creature appeared so suddenly, and now the heart is in danger. He must be connected, perhaps I could try a dream walk..." She trailed off as we continued up the winding path.

We both exited the cave and breathed a sigh of relief upon reaching the opening. I took in a deep breath and held it for a moment, before looking up to the open sky.

"Sister, I'm afraid of what the future holds." I finally admitted, tearing my gaze down to the scattered rocks and grass below. "I'm afraid for all my ponies. I fear... the last thousand years I've been living in a dream world, and have grown soft."

I didn't take my gaze away from the ground, and waited anxiously for some kind of response.

Ever since that day I met Dalandor, I hadn't been able to stop thinking this. It was a sobering experience, speaking with a being so powerful yet so scarred. It woke me from the fantasy I'd built around myself here in Equestria, where everything was perfect and all problems could be solved with friendship.

Equestria had it's own fair share of past conflict, however none of it ever amounted to much combat... let alone bloodshed. Almost all wars of the past had ended diplomatically and had never seen a reason to deviate from a system that worked so perfectly.

With the realization the veil will inevitably fall, the crashing reality that my ponies will be subjected to horrors my parents had warned me about so many years ago weighed heavily on my heart. I had so much time to prepare when they left, and yet all these years later I had nothing to show for it.

"Do not blame yourself." Luna's voice suddenly broke me from my thoughts, as her wing draped across my back. "We still have time. We'll search for this 'Savior' and I'll rework the guard's regime." As I started to object she lifted a hoof to my mouth, silencing me. "No objections. We both know which of us is the more talented Swordsmare."

I furrowed my eyebrows and gave her an annoyed grin, before shaking my head and letting out a small chuckle. "As you wish, sister. Although Prince Armor may object to you altering his training drills." I added, eliciting a short laugh from Luna.

"Ha! Please. Cadence would give that stallion an earful if he said anything." She waved off, before sighing and dropping her smile. "No... it must be done. I'd wanted to tell you for a while now sister but, the Equestrian military is but a shadow of it's former self."

I groaned as she said it, having noticed it myself as well. "I know. Let's talk of this more later, I'm eager to get this flight over with." I stated, getting a quick nod from Luna.

With a mighty flap we both took off into the dark sky once more, starting our return journey to Canterlot. While the visit to the heart had not provided us with many answers, it had given us a new direction. It was clear now more than ever that Equestria can no longer play the pacifist role. The veil will fall, and the enemies of old, the Burning Legion… will one day return to finish what they started over ten thousand years ago.

Just as our parents had warned us.

For but a moment, the veil around the entire planet wavered… revealing the breathtaking world in all it’s glory. As this shroud of magic flickered, a terribly powerful spell broke the atmosphere and ascended into the dark void of space at such astonishing speed that not a single being could have noticed.

Beyond Equestria, beyond the waning veil and across the great cosmos… the magical energy rocketed forth towards it's destination.

Just a spell, a simple one at that... but with tremendous power. What was tremendous about it?

The spell itself was just a light nudge, however were it to reach it's target in it's current form it would surely be a devastating strike. But it didn’t have to be that powerful, only accurate. As the energy streaked past the stars it's power quickly waned, growing ever weaker so when it finally arrived at it's destination it could fulfill it's purpose...

A lone champion of light and a terrible king…

Just a nudge… the power to change history forever.

That, was tremendous power.

Atop Icecrown Citadel - Stairs to the Throne

My grip tightened around my weapon, a burning light radiating from it's divine steel. My gaze was locked with the target of all my ire and rage atop the frozen staircase as he slowly descended towards me.

Icecrown… we’d lost many valiant champions on our brutal march through this nightmarish Citadel. At last we stood before our final challenge…

The frozen throne of a monster, a false king and betrayer, lay before us.

"So... the Light's vaunted justice has finally arrived." His gravely voice vibrated through the frozen air as he regarded his blade. "Shall I lay down Frostmourne and throw myself at your mercy, Fordring?"

The rush of anger I felt quickly receded as the comforting warmth of the light reinforced my will, and my gaze hardened as I stared the monster down.

“We will grant you a swift death, Arthas.” I began, raising my own blade towards him. “More than can be said for the thousands you've tortured and slain.”

“You will learn of that first hand.” He replied, lifting his empty hand as a cold mist rolled off it. “When my work is complete, you will beg for mercy - and I will deny you. Your anguished cries will be testament to my unbridled power.”

As he reached the bottom of the steps he froze, Frostmourne in hand. We both stared at each other for what felt like forever, my eyes darting between his own and the blade in his grasp.

“So be it.” I spoke with finality, before raising Ashbringer in both hands. “Champions, attack!”

Everything descended into chaos in an instant as a chorus of roars erupted around me. The champions I’d brought with me and who’d already risked their lives for the betterment of Azeroth time and time again… had followed me into this hell without question. I was proud to fight and die alongside them, for even the slim chance of victory.

I charged with all my might towards him, my sword gleaming with power in anticipation for the upcoming battle. However, before I made it across the icy landscape I found myself frozen in place, unable to act. Then I saw it, his hand lifted towards me and still rolling with dark energies… a shadow of a smile on his face.

“I'll keep you alive to witness the end, Fordring. I would not want the Light's greatest champion to miss seeing this wretched world remade in my image.” With a flourish he sent out waves of dark power, and many ghoulish monstrosities began emerging from all directions.

I was forced to watch as each champion I’d gathered and trained myself were relentlessly attacked by all manner of undead. One by one they began to fall, however it seemed they were much stronger than he’d anticipated. They fought on, and I watched in horror as a nearby mage attempted to dispel my prison only to be twisted into a monster by some underlying curse.

The battle raged, and one by one the champions began to succumb to the never ending onslaught… until a well placed strike provided a moment of weakness. The King stumbled back, before raising his sword high above his head. In an instant everything froze, before an unstoppable force ripped through the air and decimated everything that was standing only moments prior.

‘I’ve failed…’ I thought to myself as I watched helplessly from my icy prison as each one of my peers fell to the ground, lifeless. ‘I was a… fool for thinking I could beat him’ Dark thoughts began to cloud my mind as I surveyed the scene… it was over.

“No questions remain unanswered. No doubts linger. You are Azeroth's greatest champions! You overcame every challenge I laid before you.” He paused for a moment as he slowly looked around at the surrounding corpses.

I fought as hard as I could against the icy prison I found myself in, but the harder I struggled the more it seemed to drain me of my energy.

‘No! I must break free!’ Ashbringer began to glow a bit brighter in my hands as I locked eyes with Arthas ahead of me. ‘I am the light’s champion! I will defeat him, no matter the cost!’

He began to speak again, this time in a lower more thoughtful tone. “My mightiest servants have fallen before your relentless onslaught, your unbridled fury...” There was a deafening pause as I struggled against the spell binding me, feeling it slowly beginning to give way. “Is it truly righteousness that drives you? I wonder.”

Slowly, he approached me. Each step he took echoed through the now quiet battleground and shook the ice which held me in it’s cold grip. Stopping just short, he peered into the ice directly into me.

“You trained them well, Fordring.” He spoke slowly, a rising feeling of dread washing over me in an instant. “You delivered the greatest fighting force this world has ever known... right into my hands -- exactly as I intended.” With a flourish of his cape he spun on his heels, before moving back to the center of the room and regarding the scattered bodies littering the ground. “You shall be rewarded for your unwitting sacrifice.”

Stopping in the center of the room, he slowly raised his sword as a torrent of dark power washed forth like a relentless storm. Tendrils inched forth, before slowly cocooning each fallen champion and glowing with energy.

“Watch now as I raise them from the dead to become masters of the Scourge. They will shroud this world in chaos and destruction. Azeroth's fall will come at their hands-“ He stopped his speech, turning to cast a glance towards me one last time. “-and you… will be the first to die.”

Then he laughed, it’s sickening sound penetrating the ice and ringing in my ears. Until he finished with a sigh and a terrifying smirk.

“I delight in the irony.”

I watched helplessly as the bodies of the champions who had trusted me with their lives, slowly began to morph into horrible creatures of undeath. The sight sickened me, and fueled my will to see this monster ended, once and for all. The ice tried to hold me back, sapping my power and stamina the more I struggled. In one last desperate plea, I reached out to the last thing I could count on… the Light.

My muscles burned with the effort as the ice slowly shifted, my sword rising through the ice like thick molasses.

“Light, grant me one final blessing!” I bellowed, a familiar warmth igniting within me in an instant. “Give me the strength… to shatter… THESE BONDS!”

With one final roar, the ice shattered into a brilliant explosion before dissolving into blue mist. I dropped to the ground, and didn’t miss a beat as I broke into a sprint towards my target, not wasting my last opportunity. Everything moved in slow motion as I neared him, each armored footfall impacting the ice and cracking it as I went.

I could see him turning to meet my charge with his eyes, and for the first time I saw… fear.

With a flex of my legs I leapt into the air, hoisting Ashbringer over my head before swinging down with all my might. I could feel the light guiding my strike, aiding me in ending the fight in a single blow. This was it, the culmination of the past few years led up to this final moment…

Today, the Lich King falls.

Then it happened, a barely noticeable change in momentum. My sword, halfway towards it’s destination, suddenly veered ever so slightly off course. My eyes widened at the sudden change, and watched in horror as It barely glanced off Frostmourne… creating a mighty explosion which sent me rocketing away.

I landed with a hard crash, rolling across the ground a few times before skidding to a stop. Quickly righting myself back up, I turned to Arthas, who now kneeled partially collapsed as he regarded his blade with a look of pure rage. I could see a sizeable crack running through it’s steel as it leaked with power.

We both stood slowly, our eyes locked on each other as a long silence ensued. I watched as his eyes surveyed the area, before flicking back down to his damaged sword.

“Time and time again you surprise me Fordring. When the day comes and you succumb to my overwhelming power, I will relish every moment.” He paused, until a portal of purple suddenly erected behind him. “You have proven yourself a mighty foe, I’ll admit. I hoped to not leave so soon, but heed my word. I will return, and when I do my armies of dead will march through this pathetic land… and the all-powerful chosen of the Light will beg me for death.”

Raising his damaged weapon one last time, he growled in pure hatred as he pointed it straight at me. “Enjoy your short lived peace while it lasts... Tirion.”

“No!” I shouted quickly, charging him as fast as my legs would carry me.

I rocketed across the battle scarred landscape in vain as he slowly backed into the twisting nexus of energy and disappeared from sight. A moment later my sword cleaved through the portal as it split around it like mist, dissolving before my eyes.

I stood there frozen, breathing ragged breaths as I watched the mist slowly dissipate into the air.

We lost, he escaped. It was all for nothing...

‘No…’ I gripped Ashbringer tighter, and looked up to the stars. ‘He’s wounded… I’ll track him down and end him before he can regain his strength’

I slowly surveyed the area and the corpses littering it, the ones I’d failed. The ones that trusted me with their lives. Spinning around, I marched towards the staircase and ascended to the top as my mind raced. Where did he go? As far as I was aware, Arthas had burned the last of his bridges before holding up in his Citadel.

My train of thought came to a end as I reached the apex of the staircase and finally beheld the most daunting landmark in this entire Citadel... the Frozen Throne.

Currently, said throne was occupied by someone I never thought I'd see again... and couldn't help but gawk at his twisted form.

“Hello, Tirion.” A haunting voice echoed as burning eyes bored into me.

Though he bore no resemblance to the man he once was, his armor was unmistakable. The proud Bolvar Fordragon sat before me, although a scorched shadow of his former self.

“We thought you dead brother!” I exclaimed in surprise as I moved towards him.

He raised a single hand and halted my advance, before motioning to his burnt figure. “I’m as close to crossing that line as one can be, friend. Arthas and his minions tried everything they could to... break me, make me submit... but I never gave in." He paused for a moment as he looked down at his clenched fists, before giving out a tired sigh. "For now, however, pleasantries can wait… more daunting tasks await us yet.” He spoke solemnly as I nodded in agreement.

“He’s gone, to where I cannot say.” I admitted, slowly lifting my sword and peering at myself in the reflective steel. “I… don’t understand. I was sure I had him, that strike was true.”

“Indeed.” Bolvar interjected, electing a confused look from me. “Your attack was guided by the light itself, and yet it missed. Odd, don’t you think?”

Sheathing my sword, I turned and gazed down at the site of our battle as I remembered the strange feeling I had during my attack. “Something aided him… but why?”

“I cannot answer that, but it’s something we’ll have to figure out. For now…” He slowly stood from the throne, before passing me and descending the stairs. “Let us tend to these heroes. They fought bravely, and deserve to be removed from this cursed place for their final rest.”

I watched him slowly near the bottom, before casting my own gaze across the top of the Citadel.

‘Why?’ I thought again to myself, clenching my fists in anger.

I wanted something to happen, anything at all to help me understand.

'Who would aid such a monster, just as he was about to be brought to justice?'

I shook my head and steeled my nerves, no matter where Arthas had decided to hide... I’d be there to drag him out and deliver him the Light’s judgment.

No one in this entire realm will stop me in my quest.

No one.

Back in Equestria, night was upon the land once more.

A torrent of wind howled through a star lit landscape of snow, stretching for miles unmarred by even a single blemish. The occasional tree was visible in the white abyss, albeit cocooned in a thick shell of ice. The snow glittered in the starlight, and if not for the howling wind one could almost say you could hear it twinkling... if you listened closely enough.

Suddenly an invading noise pierced the area, and the air itself split in two with a pulse of violet light. The tear widened and not a moment later a figure emerged, carrying a freighting sword with eyes cold as death.

Arthas dropped to the ground with a grunt, before righting himself back up as three more figures spilled through the portal as well. He watched them land in the snow and waited for the next to come through, however after a few moments the portal suddenly shifted and dissolved... much to his annoyance.

Casting his eyes back down to the three figures, they cowered under his icy gaze.

"This is all that remains?" He growled as he scanned the three figures. "Two Geists and a lone Death Knight?"

The aforementioned Knight dropped to one knee, piercing her Runeblade into the snowy landscape and bowing her head.

"My King, I'm afraid the Champions of light left our forces... decimated. And when your grip lifted from our minds... many fled." She admitted, as the other two geists dared not move.

"Pathetic." He stated coldly, a heavy silence drowned out by the howl of wind.

Slowly lifting her head, she dared look him in the eyes. "I am Knight Therra… and we remain loyal, master. We heeded your call even after the haze lifted."

The king regarded his blade, and recalled the same situation which had happened at Light's Hope Chapel, when the Light's presence had freed many of his forces from his control.

Inside of this… 'Veil' he felt isolated. It had forcibly severed his control over the minds of his loyal servants, allowing their free will to flood forth once more. Once that control is relinquished, it proved much more difficult to reinstate. He would truly have to start rebuilding his army from scratch, however… Frostmourne must first be returned to it's former glory.

He looked over the few who had still followed him through the Death Gate, at least some had remained loyal even without his influence gripping at their minds.

"So it seems. You will be rewarded for your loyalty my servants of the damned... in time." He ran a hand over Frostmourne and the blemish it now held, before looking up at the unfamiliar sky. "First we must repair Frostmourne. I sensed a great well of power in this world when what they call the ‘Veil’ flinched."

Looking back down at the Knight, he aims his sword behind her. "Travel forth, return only when you find signs of life. We must replenish our forces with haste." The three figures quickly nodded, before scrambling away and beginning their journey.

"Use the cover of night, you cannot be seen." He added, his voice carrying a chilling warning. "We cannot risk being found just yet, there are powerful users of magic within this realm."

The three trekked through the barren, snowy landscape… scouring the area for any signs of civilization but heeding the warning their master had given them. All night they walked, their stamina never faltering as they trudged on through the knee deep snow. After hours of brisk travel, a small orange glow in the distance caught the attention of the party.

Lifting her free hand, the Knight pointed towards the horizon where the glow had been coming from. The two geists needed only a moment to process the command, before they bounded off towards the aforementioned light. The three arrived on the outskirts of a settlement, containing small homes with a few chimneys currently emitting gentle stacks of smoke.

One geist cleared his throat, the disgusting sound of bubbling bile escaping it’s maw. “Should we take some back? *Cough* Master would be pleased to have more… able bodies.”

“Only if the chance presents itself. Do not seek out conflict just yet, remember our orders.” The Knight warned as they all crept towards the town.

The streets were silent, and not a single soul even knew the horrors which crept just outside their walls. Somehow it felt as if a different kind of chill had seeped into the area. Only as the sun rose over the horizon and bathed the town in it’s warmth did the strange feeling vanish. With it, however, a few other things had gone missing as well as the cries of search parties fruitlessly scoured the town in vain.

Some ponies, it seems, never made it home last night.

Chapter 13: Quartz Junction

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Chapter 13: Quartz Junction

My eyes flew open as I jolted awake, my left hand gripping tightly onto the coach railing. I blinked a couple times as I registered the area around me and quickly slowed my rapidly beating heart. However it was already too late as I noticed Zecora looking back at me with a worried expression as she pulled the carriage along.

“Again?” She asked with a raised brow, eliciting a sigh from me as I rubbed my eyes. “Well, the sun's been up for a bit now so you may as well stay awake.”

She studied me with her eyes for a moment longer, before pulling her cloak’s hood down over her face and continuing the march down the path. I gave a quick stretch, before pulling up my own hood and jumping off, landing next to her.

“Sorry, I either dream about nothing at all or...” I trailed off tiredly as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“Maybe we can find a remedy for your sleep in the next town?” Zecora asked with a tilt of her head.

Shrugging, I kept my gaze forward and sighed. “Maybe… we’ll see. My head is killing me…”

We continued our walk for a while longer, until I finally noticed a difference in the distant scenery.

My gaze affixed onto the small town appearing just ahead, clay shingle roofing giving a stark contrast to the thatch I’d seen prior. It wasn’t without reason, as a bite had seeped it’s way into the air the further north we traveled, our breath forming small clouds as we trekked.

I matched Zecora’s pace as she pulled the carriage along the rough dirt path. We both wore dark clothing which cloaked our bodies, as to hide most of our discernible features. We’d agreed it was probably for the best as we would most certainly attract a lot of attention, being such an odd looking party and all… hopefully they thought I was just some starving minotaur or something.

I pulled the hood down a bit more over my face as I bumped Zecora’s side with my hand, getting her to flick me a curious look. “I see it, just ahead.”

Zecora turned her attention ahead once more and tried to strain her neck to see higher because of her short stature, but to no avail. The terrain was rough and uneven, mixes of rock and gravel with the occasional patch of foliage dotting the landscape. Canterlot mountain was still visible to the south, back the direction we came about two days travel as it held onto the mountain that loomed over so much of the land.

A few minutes passed and the town was finally visible to Zecora, who visibly relaxed at the sight.

“Finally… I need a warm shower and a drink.” Zecora mumbled from my side.

I chuckled a bit, but otherwise didn't say anything. The last couple days had been spent mostly in silence, with the occasional alchemy and equish lesson mixed in but nothing more. No small talk, no jokes, just silence. I can’t say I didn’t expect the awkwardness, after all we barely knew each other… though I suppose that was something that would improve with time. On a positive note, at least I didn't need to rely on the translator anymore.

Though, I still couldn't read very well.

My armor was stashed inside one of the cabin’s many cupboards and away from prying eyes, my current clothing consisting of a simple grey shirt and dark blue pants. Adorning my shoulders and covering my whole body was a hooded black cloak, much like Zecora’s, which shrouded me while also concealing the axe hanging from my hip.

“What was the name of this place again?” I asked as the town began to take form the closer we got.

“Quartz Junction.” Zecora enunciated clearly, eliciting a slow nod from me in return.

We both walked in silence the rest of the way as we approached the outskirts of the town. I avoided looking at any of the ponies as we entered, but took note at the surprising lack of diversity compared to Ponyville. The town seemed to mostly consist of Earth ponies, the occasional unicorn as well… however not a single pegasus anywhere to be seen.

Almost as if she sensed my curiosity, Zecora spoke up from my side. “It’s a mining town, mostly. Earth pony labor is unmatched… except maybe by minotaurs.” She paused for a second as I locked my gaze onto a passing unicorn, a large floating crate in tow. “Magic is always useful, though.” She added with a motion towards the aforementioned unicorn.

I nodded along with her words, taking in the sights as we walked down the dirt street. We weren’t the only carriage trolling along the path, maybe the oddest looking party… though that was a given. Regardless, the most attention we got from the locals were the curious looks as we passed.

I followed Zecora through the bowels of the town, until we stopped in-front of a building as she gave a huff and disconnected from the carriage.

“Be right back.” She stated quickly, making her way into the nearby building.

I watched her enter before leaning on the wall by the door, observing the locals as they passed by. For once I wasn’t the center of attention, in fact I was almost completely ignored as they went along with their daily business. I took in the atmosphere around me, the everyday sounds of the town drowning out all my thoughts with it’s droning noise.

The world went on around me as my gaze drifted aimlessly around the town. I even spotted one daring young filly steal some fruit from a distracted salespony’s stand. I couldn’t help but smile at her boldness as she weaved in between the moving masses in the street, her dark blue coat helping blend in to the shadows. I noticed a small pair of wings on her sides as well, though they looked like they were in rough shape… a couple feathers obviously out of place and in need of preening. She adorned a victorious little smile on her face as she held a pear in her mouth, until she noticed my eyes on her and froze just a few feet away from me.

We exchanged looks for a moment as I could see dread fill her features, I caught her entirely red-hoofed and she knew it. A small chuckle escaped my lips before I broke my gaze off and focused on something else, whistling a small tune and feigning ignorance. She blinked owlishly a couple times before scrambling away and out of sight.

It was just a single piece of fruit after all, I doubt it would be missed. She kind of reminded me of the orphaned children you could see wandering through Stormwind. Even though back then I always had Syrus to stay with… when it mattered most you’d be happy the streets were on your side. While I wasn’t certain of the filly’s exact situation per se, I assumed it wasn’t good considering she was snatching food.

My trance was broken at the sound of a door swinging open next to me, Zecora exiting with a small piece of paper between her teeth. Before I could say a word she zipped past me and in one swift movement took the page from her mouth and stuck it to the carriage door.

“We’re in lot twelve.” She said simply as she began strapping the harness back on.

I pushed off the wall and helped her set it back up, the least I could do considering I’ve barely helped with anything else… the harness was just too awkwardly shaped for me to help pull comfortably. Although, Zecora assured me on multiple occasions it was the ‘Lightest carriage she’s ever pulled’. I just chalked that up to the enchantments Mac had mentioned.

I followed Zecora to the lot we were booked in, and left the carriage in the marked spot within a decently large warehouse. Many other carriages were scattered about the lot, spaced randomly around the many available spots.

“Okay, lets book some rooms for tonight.” Zecora huffed as I stepped alongside her.

I pointed a thumb behind us towards our ride with a confused look. “Couldn’t we just stay in the carriage like we have been?”

However, my answer was a sudden laugh as the zebra shook her head back at me. “Well Dal, feel free to sleep in the cold carriage if you want but I’m gonna have a hot shower and sleep in a warm bed.” She replied matter-o-factly.

I blinked at her and hesitated for a second, before nodding in agreement. Sometimes I forget just how debilitating the cold can be. It’s not like we were both wearing these cloaks just for disguises, they’re also pretty warm and break apart the icy wind well enough. I took one last glance behind me as we exited the warehouse, towards the carriage currently housing my armor.

I chewed my lip nervously at the thought of leaving my protection behind, but resigned to it as the large warehouse doors pressed shut. Giving a barely audible sigh I tore my gaze away and followed Zecora through the town which is different in almost every way to the first one I’d arrived at. While Ponyville was very tight knit and undeveloped, everypony living there depending on one another and fueling each other's businesses; this place felt more isolated and industrialized, any feeling of community entirely absent as ponies hurried from place to place without so much a greeting as they passed.

The smell of coal permeated the air with a coppery undertone, resurfacing memories of when I first walked into Ironforge… the only absence being the ever present scent of a thousand sweaty dwarves, and that I definitely didn’t miss.

I followed Zecora through the bowels of the town and to another building, a sigil carved onto a wooden sign swaying by it’s doorway. I glanced at the symbols etched on it as I passed and squinted at the image.

A mug of what I could only assume was ale sat next to a chair by a roaring fireplace. All in all, looked pretty cozy.

Before I could read the letters etched under it I was pulled inside, the sounds of unintelligible chatter assaulting my ears. The interior was brimming full with ponies, earth ponies to be exact, either drinking or playing the various games scattered around. There were a few outliers, however, namely the group of Minotaur in the corner that haven’t taken their eyes off me since I entered. I didn’t pay it much mind though, figuring it was just curiosity at seeing another biped, of course I’d stand out to them amongst these ponies.

Zecora led me to an empty table flanked by two booth seats. I scooted into one side as Zecora slid into the side opposite to me. No sooner had she sat down before she was already digging into her saddlebag.

“Welcome to the Hearthstone Inn, what can I get ya’?” Came a feminine voice from my right.

I blinked a couple times in confusion before turning to the pony standing nearby, holding a pencil in her mouth as she watched me expectantly… hovering it over a notepad laying on the table.

“Wha- huh?” I asked, shaking my head with a bewildered expression.

Rolling her eyes, she took the pencil out of her mouth with one hoof. “Your order?” She repeated, motioning to the notebook.

I finally registered what she was asking, and quickly motioned to Zecora, who had still been rifling around in her saddlebags but turned to regard the waiter.

“Two orders of Stonebrew is fine.” She answered quickly as the pony nodded and jotted down the order.

I watched her dot her line with the pencil before stashing the pad away and retreating into the inn to fetch our orders. I turned back to Zecora to see she’d taken out her journal and was writing… something. What it was exactly I couldn’t tell from here, though I thought I saw my name. I tapped my fingers on the table before sighing and leaning back a bit, pulling my hood off my head and running a hand through my hair.

“What is it?” Zecora asked suddenly as she shot me a questioning look.

“What’s what?”

“The name, I could see your thoughts blank when she said it.” She chuckled as she finished writing something in her small book before closing it shut and slipping it back into her bag.

“Oh.” I blinked a couple times and shook my head. “Nothing, really. Just reminds me of something back home. What is a hearthstone here?”

This seemed to get her interest as she leaned forward a bit. “Really? Well a hearthstone is what ponies would call the magic stones miners would take with them back in the old days.” She began as I listened intently, leaning on the table and clasping my fingers together. “Earth ponies didn’t have magic, and a burning flame wasn’t always safe underground… so they used Hearthstones. They’re carved from a larger deposit, it glows bright orange in the dark and can be scratched on the cave walls to help guide lost miners out.”

I squinted at her explanation and nodded slowly, scratching my chin as she told me the small tale.

‘So just a coincidental name after all…’ I thought to myself.

“I’d like to see one sometime, if you know where we can find one.” I asked as Zecora went to reply before the waiter from before reappeared, two large mugs in tow.

“If it’s the hearthstone ya’ll came here for, they do tours every evening at around 5.” She punctuated with a nod, placing both drinks down with a smile.

I gave her a nod of thanks, which she returned happily before trotting off.

I pulled a mug closer and took a whiff, earthy spices reaching my nose as I hummed in curiosity at the drink’s interesting aroma. I brought it up for a tentative sip and could taste the telltale flavour of alcohol with strong spicy undertones complementing it. Yeah, the dwarves and earth ponies would get along just fine.

“So,” Zecora started again after taking a sip from her own drink, “What made you curious?”

Taking another swig, I pushed the cup away and met her curious look. “Just… funny is all. There’s a ‘Hearthstone’ where I come from too, although they share none of the qualities you mentioned.” She nodded along with what I said, but didn’t interrupt as she waited for more, so I obliged. “They’re magic stones in a way, yes, but they do so much more than just glow. A hearthstone would return it’s user to wherever it was bound, a return home spell if you will… but usable by anyone and small enough to hide in your pocket.”

I could see Zecora’s eyes widening with wonder as I spoke of the stone, eliciting a smile from me and spurring me to divulge more. “Although incredibly useful, they’re also exceedingly rare. I for one have never seen a real one, only heard the stories.”

Zecora nodded as she pondered the description I gave her, taking another swig of her drink. “Well I think that’s pretty neat, now that kind of hearthstone sounds even more useful than ours.”

Shrugging I nodded in agreement. “Maybe in direct comparison, but like I said… very rare.” We both took another sip of our drinks at the same time as I looked around the bar, noting that the minotaurs seemed to have lost interest in me. “Oh… and there’s a card game.” I added, getting her to tilt her head a bit.

“A… card game?” She repeated, receiving a nod from me.

“Yup. It’s popular in taverns and inns back home.” I explained with a twirling motion of my hand.

“Huh… may I see?” She asked, electing a surprised look from me.

I thought on the offer for a second, then shrugged. “Well…” I trailed off as I dug through my pouch, Zecora watching eagerly from across the table.

I pulled out a rolled up parchment and a small deck of cards which were bound together by a string. Rolling out the sheet, Zecora greedily scanned it as I chuckled and shuffled the cards in my hands.

“That's called the battleground, cards in combat go on the sand there… here let me show you.” I offered as I dealt out the cards. “So, player one starts with the coin…”

The next twenty or so minutes were spent showing Zecora the cards and how they worked, which also meant explaining every card description as well… it was written in common after all. Before we knew it our mugs had emptied and I was rolling back up the parchment.

“There's still some daylight left, why not go check out this ‘Hearthstone’ of theirs?” Zecora offered with a shrug.

I was lying if I said I wasn’t curious about this stone, so it didn’t take much to persuade me to go. I nodded and gathered up everything I’d spread on the table as Zecora stood and made her way to the barkeep. As I tied the pouch closed I glanced to Zecora just as she finished talking with the stallion and made her way back to me.

“I was just reserving some rooms for us tonight, I already paid for it so we’re good.” She explained as she jingled a couple of keys by their attached string before stuffing them into her saddlebag.

I followed Zecora out as she led me through the busy streets. She explained to me she’d gotten simple directions from the innkeeper about the town, I just nodded along and pulled my hood back up as we walked. Zecora opted to keep hers down, Showing off her mohawk-like mane for the first time today.

However my attention was on the crowds that parted for us as we walked, seemingly paying us not even a passing glance.

But someone was… I knew it. I could feel it.

We were being watched.

“Welcome to Hearth Cavern!” A cream coloured unicorn mare exclaimed to the small group outside the mouth of a dark cave, of which led into the depths of a fairly large mountain. “Popular tourist destination and home of the one and only Hearthstone of Equestria!” She added as a few of the ponies whispered amongst themselves in excitement.

She continued to sell the experience to the few ponies standing nearby, the small group scanning the caves interior from where they stood. They all wore some manner of clothing to stave off the biting cold, some wore cloaks like Zecora and I… and even a few of them had cameras hanging from their necks as white flashes intermittently lit up the dark cavern ahead.

Of course my attention was focused solely on the trio of minotaurs dressed in cloaks that had decided to join the group. The same three which had been watching me from the inn just earlier. I could still feel the intermittent sensation of being stared at as they stood behind us and away from the group, however every time I stole a look their way they always seemed to be looking elsewhere… even when they shouldn’t have had enough time to look away.

I groaned in annoyance and shook my head a bit, rubbing my eyes as I drew in a calming breath. From compounding years of being hunted on a daily bases, it was hard to not look for reasons to be suspicious… especially when I’ve had so little sleep in the first place.

I glanced over to Zecora as she studied the inside of the cave’s mouth, completely unaware of my worry, and pondered if I should let her in on my suspicions. But before I could make a decision the guide at the front stomped the ground, electing a resounding ‘Thud’ and gaining everyone's attention.

“Alright, stick to me like glue! We’re heading in!” She exclaimed as her horn shone a brilliant light blue, illuminating the cave a small distance ahead of her before cutting off suddenly into pitch darkness.

Zecora and I stood a bit further back from the ponies as they all started to move forward at pace with their Unicorn guide. I wanted to get Zecora’s attention and warn her about the three, but while the ponies had stuck close to the guide… the three minotaurs were following behind us at a distance as we shuffled through the cave. Far enough away I felt a bit comfortable I could retaliate if things got ugly… but close enough to hear me if I warned my companion.

I scowled under my hood as I trudged forward, staying wary of steady footsteps behind me… lest they were to make their move now. I looked over to Zecora and gave her a small nudge to get her attention.

Hiding any sign of worry from showing on my face I motioned ahead towards the guide and the closely following crowd of ponies.

“Go ahead, I’ll catch up, I need time to think.” I said reassuringly.

She looked about to protest, but after once more looking towards the group trekking on ahead she relented and trotted forward to the front of the diving party.

With Zecora out of the way I refocused on the sound of footsteps behind me, and quickly noticed one no longer beat to the same pace as the rest. I felt my muscles tense up as I readied myself to turn around and strike, the heavy stomps of a single minotaur closing the distance behind me.

However, just as I gripped onto my axe and came to a stop… a sudden gravelly voice made me hesitate.

“Keep walking…” The minotaur whispered from behind me, getting my brow to furrow in confusion. “Don’t leave yet, you’re being targeted.”

I stood stock still for a moment as I processed the information just revealed to me. I didn’t start walking again, but I did glance back just a bit to see the enormous body standing behind me.

I stood alone with the group I’d previously labeled as a possible threat while the diving party trekked ever onwards… quickly bathing us into darkness. I could still see quite well in the near pitch black cavern, and watched as the minotaur who had spoken slowly pulled an orange glowing stone from his side pack. It illuminated the area in a soft orange hue as he tied it to a string, hanging it loosely from his hip.

“Targeted how.” I finally asked in a serious tone.

“Group of two, shrouded in dark clothes. Likely assassins.” He paused for a second, until I felt his eyes examining my stance. “We thought you knew, you seemed to be on your guard.”

A part of me was skeptical about his story… even though I couldn't sense any deceit in his tone I was no fool, and wasn’t about to believe the word of a complete stranger.

Without proof, at least.

“I had my suspicions…” I lied back, getting no answer from him as I turned to look back down the empty cave path ahead. “These assassins, how long have they been tailing me.”

“Since you arrived at the Hearthstone Inn.” He answered quickly as he crossed his bulky arms, getting a raised brow from me.

“So I suppose I just got lucky that you felt charitable today?” I sneered back, electing a snort from him as he shook his head.

“We noticed them stalking you, there is no honor in backstabbing.” He finished with a hint of malice in his voice.

I pondered on his answer for a moment, before turning back to give him a studying glare. “And me? From how you described it I’m dressed like an assassin as well, how do you know I wouldn’t do the same to you?”

A deep chuckle rattled from him as he shook his head and pointed to my right hip. “Saw your axe, can tell you prefer yourself the frontline.” He started with a nod. “Seem more like the kind that wants to keep a low profile, a little worrying… but not my business.” Then he pointed a finger behind him, towards the direction we came in. “Assassins on my side of town though… that is my business…”

That got a small smirk from me as I gave him an affirming nod, perhaps I read them wrong after all.

I decided to play along. ‘For now, at least until I see these ‘Assassins’ for myself’ I thought to myself as I looked him up and down one last time, really soaking in his details.

He had two large horns protruding from his head, but the left one seemed to be cut off some ways up it’s length. He wore some kind of material that resembled leather, though I wasn’t sure how legal something like that would be around here. It formed something resembling a leather jerkin, but the right shoulder had extra thickness probably meant to absorb blows or ram into the enemy.

A large gold ring hung from his right ear, and his eyes were an intense red. A single axe hung from his right side, jingling in place next to the glowing orange stone, of which I assumed was a ‘Hearthstone’ like Zecora had mentioned. He also wore pants that were bound together by some kind of strong looking linen, albeit sporting a few tears here and there.

I sighed and gave a quick nod, keeping my eyes locked onto his. “…I trust you.” I stated as I motioned ahead and began trekking forth once again. “So, what should we do.” I asked as the mystery minotaur picked up the pace and quickly matched my speed… walking to my left.

“Nothing, for now.” He stated simply, getting a curious look from me. “Stay close, don’t leave alone. We’ll stay with you until you get back to the inn. You’ll be safe there and if you need us, we’ll be around.” He explained as I nodded along slowly.

There was a long stretch of silence as we walked through the dark cave, the wet walls shimmering in the soft orange glow of the minotaurs hearthstone.

“The names’ Tusk, by the way.” The large hulking creature stated proudly, before pointing back at his two flanking friends who still hadn’t spoken a word. “And that there’s Cragg and Khana, they don’t talk much.”

I let out a low groan at his persistent stare and shook my head a bit. “Dalandor.” I growled back, probably more rude than I had intended as his brows furrowed a bit.

“You know, I thought you might have been a Taur’ at first, but now that I’m close I can’t tell wha-“ Anything Tusk was about to say was cut off as a shout sounded just ahead where the party was quickly becoming visible again.

“Attention everypony!” The guide spoke up from next to a small hole in the cavern wall. “We’re about to enter the main chamber, when we do I’ll be deactivating my light. For your own safety please stay nearby!” She explained, glancing back towards us with a cautious look.

Zecora spotted me and waved, before giving pause at the minotaur walking beside me. Tusk just gave me a nod, to which I returned before running to meet up with Zecora and the rest of the party.

The guide breathed a sigh of relief before quickly composing herself and motioning towards the narrow passage ahead. We followed her through the entrance in a single file line, of which the trio of minotaurs behind us had some trouble navigating with their large builds, before arriving in a very large cavern.

The cavern was massive and very well lit as the unicorn guide pumped extra magic into her horn. The place itself must have been at least over a hundred feet in height or more… however directly in the center was a massive smooth chunk of rock which stood out from the rest due to it’s much lighter grey hue compared to the dark grey walls.

“Welcome everypony, to the pride of our city.” The unicorn exclaimed proudly. “The Hearthstone of Quartz Junction!”

As she yelled out the last line, and with a flourish of one hoof, she plummeted the room into darkness as she winked out her horn’s light. A few of the ponies around shuffled worriedly at the sudden change, however not a moment later the whole cavern began to quite literally glow.

Cracks around the entire cave illuminated a bright orange color, showing off hidden veins of the mineral unnoticeable to the naked eye otherwise… however the most striking had to be in the very center.

A massive boulder jutted out from the ground, it’s exterior was a completely smooth surface that shone in a bright, brilliant light… drawing everyone’s attention to the beautiful display.

My eyes were glued to it as it’s glow grew in intensity, until it finally stopped at what I could only compare to the burning intensity of the sun. It really was quite a remarkable mineral and no doubt magical in origin… who knows the circumstances leading to it’s creation.

Nature really was something.

I managed to tear away my gaze and looked at Zecora, who’s own eyes were locked onto the hearthstone in wonder. I bit the inside of my lip as I pondered on telling her the situation.

“Zecora…” I started, getting her attention quickly as she pulled her eyes away from the show.

“Hm? What's the matter?” She asked with a smile, before it fell as she took in my worried expression.

“There's…” I hesitated, before shaking my head. “Nothing, just the headache bothering me is all.”

Her eyes held onto a tinge of worry, and I could see her brow furrow just a bit before she nodded slowly.

“We’ll stop by a pharmacy when we leave, maybe-“ I cut her off with a quick shake of my head.

“No, I’d rather just go to the inn and rest.” I lied again. “We have a long trip ahead of us anyway.” I added as she hesitated, before nodding softly and looking back to the hearthstone.

I felt awful for lying to her, but I didn’t want her to worry about something like assassins. Especially when I’m their target.

No… it’s definitely best she stays oblivious to this until I handle it. I could see Tusk standing off to the left with his own party, and he gave me a single slow nod… to which I returned.

Now to see these would-be ‘Assassins’ for myself.

My eyes screwed shut as the evening sun assaulted them, it’s warmth quickly swept away by a cold gust of wind as we finally exited the cave. Many of the ponies bid their farewells and thanks before parting and going their separate ways.

However, my attention was currently fixed on my surroundings as I quickly scanned the area… looking for these apparent stalkers. I couldn’t see anything at first, but before I could look any longer I felt a tug on my cloak that pulled me from my stupor.

“Wha- huh?” I blurted out as I looked down to Zecora, who seemed to be looking up at me in worry.

“I said, is everything alright? You seem on edge.” She asked with a curious look, betrayed by the worry in her voice.

I waved off her concern quickly, motioning forward. “Yeah, like I said... just don’t feel well.”

She studied me for a few more seconds, before nodding with a sigh. “If you say so. Come on, lets go.”

The walk back to the inn was spent in silence, the only sounds coming from the increasingly intense wind and the ponies still out this late into the evening… which was a lot more than Ponyville that's for sure. I still couldn’t spot any suspicious targets, but that didn’t mean I stopped looking.

With so many ponies passing by me it was impossible to notice any one of them staring at me, but they had to be out there.

Tusk and his party were a ways back, but every now and then when I looked behind me I could see them following from a distance.

I growled in annoyance to myself and clenched my fists, electing small *cracks* from them as we walked.

This was always the worst part, the anticipation of the first strike.

It wasn’t much longer until we arrived safely at the Inn as Zecora entered quickly, shivering while a particularly strong gust of wind blasted past. I followed her, but hesitated for a moment by the door as I peered back out into the crowds.

Still nothing.

My face darkened as my eyes scanned the masses, until I pondered if I was being made a fool by that minotaur after all.

‘What if he just wanted some information from me? I didn’t tell him anything important except my name…’ Possibilities flashed through my mind, but I couldn’t think of what I may have done to attract the ire of anyone yet, ‘It’s not like my name has a bounty on it…’ I groaned and rubbed my eyes in defeat, before relenting back inside the Inn.

Zecora and I stood in the center of a hallway adorning many marked doors. I turned to look back at Zecora as she lifted a hoof, a small key dangling from it.

“You’re room Eight. I’ll see you in the morning okay?” She explained with a small jingle of the key.

I reached to grab it but hesitated for a moment, before looking back at Zecora with a serious stare. “What's our plan now? You know I don’t want to take a detour like that….”

Sighing, Zecora shrugged. “I don’t know Dal, it’s already a long trip from here to the empire… and a lot more dangerous if we bypass a major city like that along the way.” She repeated the same answer she’d been using since the trip here, electing an annoyed huff from me.

During the trip we’d gone over the map, and possible routes we could take on our trip towards the Crystal Empire. However, one roadblock we seemed to be hitting was that many of the safe roads available also seemed to travel through Manehatten… which was a considerable detour east. Any of the more direct roads north were apparently plagued with bandits, or worse.

I guess not everything is so different in Azeroth, were you to venture off the main roads you’d no doubt find yourself in a heap of trouble there as well.

My thoughts were put on pause as, for just a moment… I swear I could sense someone’s eyes on me. The feeling came and went in a flash, and I barely noticed the chill before it was covered up by a sudden gust of cold air. The stairway we came through was suddenly filled with the figure of a large earth pony stumbling up the steps.

He regarded neither of us as he drunkenly shambled towards room 7, fighting with the lock for a few moments before collapsing into a heap as the door flew open. He remained on the ground for a few seconds, until the sound of snoring made its way down the hall towards Zecora and I.

We shared a look before snickering a bit at the stallions expense. I walked over and pushed him further into the room using my foot, before taking the key out of the handle and dropping it next to him. With a small nod I closed the door before regarding Zecora again, who was holding back another chuckle.

“You were saying?” I asked nonchalantly, electing the laugh from the Zebra.

Clearing her throat, she shook her head and regained her composure quickly. “I’ll ask around tomorrow… a lot of these maps were made a long time ago. It’s possible they don’t reflect *Yawn* today’s roads accurately.” Zecora explained as she rubbed her eyes with a hoof, presenting the key to me once more.

That left me with two options, either take the road leading through Manehatten and put up with the large detour… or spend another day in the city tomorrow, risking a possible attack from assassins I still don’t even know exist or not.

I reached down with a sigh of defeat and took the bronze key dangling from her hoof, noting the faded 8 engraved on it’s side. Glancing back I caught sight of Zecora’s tail as it disappeared through the door to room four, a solid thud ringing out from the door followed moments later by the click of a lock. A shiver rattled down my back as I scanned the area again, before I finally relented and ignored my paranoia… retreating to my own room for the night with key in hand.

The room was pretty empty, consisting of a single bed accompanied by a night stand and unlit oil lamp. The setting sun’s light draped across the floor from the window at the end of the room, filling the area with a gentle glow. I moved towards the corner where a coat rack stood and doffed my cloak. As I moved to hang it up, I hesitated as I thought of a third option I hadn’t considered yet.

I never was one for playing the passive role anyway.

A Few Hours Later... Third Person Perspective

As the night rolled on the streets of Quartz Junction quickly calmed from their usual bustling state, instead filled with a long silence occasionally broken by a pony either up a bit too late, or stumbling home after a few too many drinks. One of these however happened to fit neither of these descriptions, as they snuck around the Hearthstone inn's walls.

A small pegasus filly with a dark navy coat skulked around in the shadows as to not be seen as they quietly peeped through the inn’s windows. She knew the risks of being around such an area at this time of night, but she couldn’t help it. That creature she saw earlier she’d never seen before, and not only that it had seen her stealing but didn’t rat her out.

She wouldn’t admit it, but she was nothing but grateful. It’d been a rough week and she’d barely gotten scraps to eat, but she could see there was something about this guy… he’s been through it all too. She could see it in his eyes when they saw each-other, she had to see him again! If even at least just to thank him.

And who knows, maybe this could finally be her ticket out of the city!

However, her thoughts were quickly cut short when she heard the sound of a window sliding open. Instinctively she froze up, before darting away with a quiet flap of her wings. She darted across the street, her coat blending in with the night like a shadow in the dark.

She prided herself on her abilities, even in plain sight ponies would have trouble noticing her if she really tried to avoid detection. It was a skill trained through years of isolation and thievery, a kind of life deserved for none.

Which just makes that creature so much more interesting, for no one had ever spotted her so quickly when she’d meant to hide away.

And so here she was, skulking about in the late hours trying to catch another glimpse of the thing…

‘Hopefully this time without being caught’ She thought to herself as she crouched low behind some crates, stacked just across the street from the inn.

And that's when she finally spotted movement from the second floor of all places, a skinny figure could be seen scaling down before leaping off and landing with almost practiced efficiency.

It was him! No doubt about it.

This time he wasn’t wearing his cloak, his features all on display to see in the moonlight. His mane was short, almost like a small tuft of hair on the top of his head. She examined his strange physique and how he walked on two legs so gracefully, not making a single sound even in the dead of night.

Until he stopped in the middle of the road, and stared.

The more he stared the more she began to feel uneasy. He couldn’t have been looking at her, right?

Something was wrong, the tone of the night had shifted and the small filly could feel it. The pleasantly chilly night had suddenly changed to a sickening cold, like it was sapping the strength from her very being.

Then, he spoke.

“I haven’t all night. Lets make this quick.” His gravely voice echoed out into the empty night, the tone just dripping with malice.

The filly couldn’t help but start shaking, he knew she was there and he was angry! Maybe she’d read him all wrong!

This was a mistake!

She wanted so badly to flee but couldn’t move. Her whole body sat like a statue as her eyes glued to the display before her.

Then, there was a small flicker of light from his waist, followed by a sickening crunch.

It happened so fast she didn’t even catch what happened. She rapidly blinked, regaining her composure and taking in the scene.

And oh, how she wished she hadn’t.

The figure was crouched low, holding an axe in his right hand that glinted in the moonlight’s glow… a ghostly white mixed with a deep crimson hue. The body of a pony lay beneath him, head completely severed from their body.

It twitched once, twice… then stillness took hold as blood silently poured out of the exposed neck.

And like a rubber band snapping back the little filly suddenly came back into reality, and did the first thing that came to her mind.

She screamed.

Perspective: Dalandor

*Thud*

The pony’s body fell to the ground in a heap, their head rolling to a stop shortly after as blood quickly pooled around me.

It seems, the assassins were quite real indeed.

I had felt their stares the moment I’d landed outside, and knew they’d cease this moment to strike, after all how could they resist such an easy target. I quickly took in my surroundings, looking for my next attacker. I thought I felt at least three pairs of eyes on me but now I couldn’t be sure, the adrenalin coursing through my body clouding that sense while the sick satisfaction of a fresh kill flowed forth.

At least, until a certain sound pulled me from my haze.

A sudden scream pierced the air, not quite causing me to recoil but catching me off guard. A small filly, the same I’d seen earlier by the shop stalls, leapt out from behind some crates and took off in a panic. The distraction was just enough for me to barely notice the three daggers zipping towards me.

I stumbled back as I swung up with my axe, deflecting two of the projectiles away but failing to stop the third. It stuck itself hard under my right shoulder, electing a pained yell from me as I as gripped the dagger’s handle tightly with my free hand.

I turned to where they had come from, and froze at the sight. The second cloaked figure had ceased his chance to catch the filly who had been making a break for it. He restrained her in place as we both locked eyes.

I began to walk towards him, until his horn lit up and he stomped a hoof into the dirt. “Stop!” The figure ordered as I halted my advance.

He pulled the quivering pony against himself with one hoof, while a magical aura held a small knife against her throat. I stood only about ten feet from where he was, staring him down as he used the filly as a shield.

“Drop the axe or it’s her life!” He threatened as I gripped my axe a bit tighter.

“You think her life has any weight to me?” I shot back, getting a small smile to creep onto his face. “These ponies are all strangers to me anyway.”

“Then why’d you save the Zebra?” His reply caused my stoic mask to fall for a moment, getting his smile to widen even more. “You’re worth a lot of money, you know. Drop the axe, last chance.”

‘THAT'S what this is about? Because I got in the way of their ‘Hunt’?’ I stored away that bit of info for later as I regarded the unicorn with my undivided attention.

My scowl turned into a full blown look of rage as I watched him press the dagger harder against the filly’s neck, electing a panicked yelp from her as a trickle of blood flowed from where the blade touched.

“Alright!” I yelled back, raising my empty hand in front of me.

He watched me intently as my eyes bored into him, until I finally let go of my axe and let it fall to the ground. He motioned to the left with his head, and I sneered at him before kicking the weapon away with my foot. He hesitated for a moment, before throwing the filly away with his magic and lunging at me.

He made almost no sound as he stabbed towards me, but I quickly stepped back and out of the way of his attempts with ease. He was fast, his attacks blurring together as the small knife jutted back and forth trying to weave it’s way through my defense. A couple times I had to smack the attack away with my hand, lacerating the skin a bit but all in all still preferable to being stabbed.

After missing the flurry of attacks, the unicorn let out a grunt of annoyance before stepping back and readying himself for another attempt. I prepared to cast a spell of my own, but a sudden yelp of pain broke my concentration as the assassin reared onto his hind legs in surprise.

At some point as he was distracted with me, the filly had ran up behind him and gripped onto him… with her teeth; biting down hard on his left hind leg electing quite a high pitched scream from him. He yelled in pain as he brought up his other hind hoof and bucked her hard in the face, sending her sliding across the ground before coming to a full stop. I took the moment of confusion to my advantage and rushed forward, gripping his horn with my left hand and the dagger with my right as I sent a blast of frost magic through his skull.

The spell was more effective than I expected as his whole body shuddered and collapsed, the aura around the knife fading as it’s weight returned in my hand. The pony rolled around on the dirt as he held onto his head, moaning in pain. Without missing a beat I spun the knife upward and crouched over the suffering unicorn.

A quick jab under his jaw and he went limp instantly, the ambience of the night returning to a dead silence once more. I slowly stood back to my full height and surveyed the area. The two bodies lay nearby and saturated the dirt around us.

My common sense finally began to flow back as my adrenaline slowly receded. My first thought was what I should do with the bodies, as there would definitely be too much attention here come morning if I left them. However, before I could ponder on it any longer, a sound suddenly reminded me of another important situation.

A small whimpering could be heard from nearby, and I turned to look at the curled up form of the small pegasus filly. I quickly moved over to her, and gently reached down to place my hand on her back. She jolted at the touch and let out a gurgled cry as she tried to pull away from me.

“Shhh.” I said quietly, holding her in place as I knelt down next to her. “Be still, child.”

Her crying was a series of hiccups and sputtering by this point, but she managed to slowly look up and meet my gaze. That bastard really did a number on her, one of her eyes were completely swollen shut and blood poured freely from her broken muzzle and split upper lip.

“It h-hurts…” She mumbled out, “r-really bad…” She choked back another sob as I pulled her over to me.

She didn’t resist this time as I pressed her against my chest, comforting the crying filly as her blood soaked my clothes. I reached into my pouch for a potion, but realized I didn’t have any weak ones for her and giving her a runic potion may cause even more pain than it’s worth.

I slowly stroked her mane, coating it in a bit of blood in the process. I doubt she cared at the moment, however. She shivered in my grasp, though whether that was due to the cold air or my own freezing touch, I wasn’t sure. Regardless, I comforted the poor thing the best I could.

“I have something that can help, but you have to stay strong for me, okay?” I whispered to her as I rummaged one hand through my pouch, gathering the herbs I needed.

She didn’t speak this time as she slowly nodded her head, her eyes screwed shut tightly in pain. I quickly got to work preparing a weaker potion for her, crushing the herbs in my one free hand and messily pouring them into a vial as it reached a simmer. I gave the potion a quick swirl as I corked it, the brilliant crimson enveloping the waters within in a matter of moments.

“This is gonna burn a bit, but it’ll help. Trust me.” I whispered as I brought the vial up to her lips.

She cracked her eyes open a bit, and looked at the red bottle I held up to her mouth.

“N-no...” She mumbled out as she pulled away.

“It’s ok, its a healing potion. Look.” I reassured softly.

She slowly looked up to me as I pulled a runic potion from my bag and downed it in one go, pulling the dagger out of my shoulder a moment after. I clenched my jaw in pain as liquid fire rolled through my veins, but as it faded so did the ache in my shoulder. A moment later and it was almost like it’d never happened at all, my whole shoulder had sealed up with the only remnant being a single scar.

The filly sniffled to herself, staring at the site of a once terrible wound… now completely healed. She hesitantly brought her lips to the vial before drinking it down greedily. Her good eye clenched shut as the burning liquid slipped down her throat to where it was needed, quickly reverting the damage she’d taken. She whimpered a bit, but not nearly as much as I’d expected.

I continued to stroke her mane, until her ragged breathing slowed to a calm rhythm. Carefully I lifted her head with my free hand by supporting under her chin, and could see the potion had done it’s work beautifully. The little thing was snoozing away in my arm now, her muzzle covered in drying blood as the swelling was visibly receding on her eye.

I was pulled out of my stupor a moment later at the sound of a door flinging open behind me. I quickly spun my head around from where I was sitting and locked eyes with Tusk in the doorway. I could see him taking in the scene before him with wide eyes, the innkeeper visible just behind him and trying to peek around the large minotaur.

“You were right. There was two.” I said aloud, looking down at the sleeping form in my grasp.

I slowly stood, carrying her in my right arm as I held her against my chest.

Heavy footsteps could be heard behind me, approaching slowly as I turned to see Tusk rubbing the back of his neck as he viewed the scene. The innkeeper still hadn’t moved from his spot at the door as he stood there almost like a lookout, watching the area for any signs of other ponies.

“Well… I’d say you got em'.” Tusk finally admitted as he crossed his arms. “Sheesh kid, you really can swing an axe…”

I didn’t react to his comment as I came up to his side, keeping my eyes forward towards the inn.

“Are we good?” I asked coldly, waiting for his reply as he let out a quick huff and sighed.

“Go.” He answered with a groan, scratching his neck again as he turned to the headless corpse still slowly leaking blood. “I’ll uh… clean up. Just ask Herb if you need anything.”

“Herb?” I asked with a raised eyebrow, electing a quick wave from the pony in the door as he ushered me over.

“Sorry, it’s actually Herbal Remedy but everyone just calls me Herb.” He explained with a nasally voice and a chuckle, before clearing his throat and ushering us forward some more. “No matter, come on lets get you both inside!”

The earth pony gave one last nervous look around before closing the door and pointing to an empty table.

“You can come sit here, who is it you’ve got there?” He asked as he tried to get a look at the small filly in my arm.

I lowered myself a bit to give him a look, and he recoiled a bit with a huff. I raised an eyebrow at his change in demeanor as he shook his head.

“S-sorry but she has to go. I’ll have no thieves in my inn.” He said with a curt nod.

I pulled back a chair and sat in it, making sure not to disturb the sleeping filly in my arm.

“Not happening.” I replied simply, getting him to shake his head in annoyance.

“N-n-no… no. She has to-“ He was cut off as the front door opened suddenly and Tusk came walking through.

He had a bit of blood on his hands as he crossed the inn and washed his hands behind the counter.

“Is there a problem, Herb?” Tusk asked in a tired voice.

“Actually yes! We both know this… thief has no place here!” He stated angrily as he pointed to the figure still sleeping peacefully despite all the yelling.

“They just had a brush with death, give her a break.” Tusk explained in a warning tone.

The innkeeper didn’t seem happy at the order, but surprisingly he backed off. Letting out a sigh, he rubbed his eyes once before looking at me.

“She’s your responsibility, I want her out by morning!” He finished with another nod, before turning around and walking through the door behind the counter.

Silence reined for a bit as Tusk stood tall behind the counter and reached up to the many bottles lining the shelves, browsing over them for a moment before pulling out a nearly empty one filled with a light brown alcohol.

“Drink?” He asked, pulling two glasses out and setting them on the counter.

I looked at him for a moment longer, before getting up and moving over to a bar chair. He slid the glasses over in front of me and threw some ice in, before topping both glasses off with a bottle of brownish liquor. I shifted the sleeping filly in my right arm a bit so she was lower, and picked up the glass with my left hand to give it a whiff.

The drink smelled strongly of vanilla and butterscotch, with of course the strong tone of alcohol mixed in. I swirled the liquid once, before taking a long swig.

“Sorry about Herb.” He apologized as he took a sip from his own and motioned at the snoozing pony. “That one’s given us some trouble in the past.”

“So what now? The guard already on their way I presume?” I asked as I finished my glass.

“Celestia no, you’re just lucky no one else came across your little scuffle. You weren’t exactly quiet.” He warned as he refilled my glass again. “I can tell you’ve got your reasons for being so reserved, I’ll respect that for now.” He paused as he slid the bottle back onto the shelf, before turning to look me in the eyes. “However, I don’t want that kind of attention on my side of town, do well to remember that… yeah?”

I grasped my glass and looked down into it, before taking a smaller sip this time. “We’ll be leaving tomorrow, so don’t sweat it.”

I finished my drink as Tusk left me alone, electing for locking back up the liquor cabinet and leaving through the same door the innkeeper had. I let out a slow, drawn out sigh before making the journey back up to my room.

I let the filly sleep in my bed for the night as I elected for the chair in the corner. I had a good view out the window from my seat as I peered outside, the spot where my ‘scuffle’ was in perfect view. I could see the other two minotaurs that had been with Tusk down there, spreading loose dirt around wherever the blood had previously saturated it.

My exhaustion quickly crept up on me and I must have lucked out, because I dreamt of nothing all night... and it was the best sleep I've had in a while.

Perspective: Luna

I sat alone atop my balcony as I stared up into the star filled sky. I couldn’t help but wonder which of the countless twinkling lights the strange creature my sister had met calls home. I tried to picture what she described him as, a tall and pale figure. Stands on two legs like a minotaur but with little to no muscle.

I let out a small snort at the strange amalgamation I’d thought up and shook my head, I’d see for myself soon enough anyway. Breathing a slow sigh I lit up my horn as a serene cool enveloped me. I’d been scouring the dreamscape for the last couple days but I believe I finally found his signature.

Opening my eyes revealed an endless expanse of turquoise, softly glowing stars marking the wispy paths tangled throughout the realm. Bubbles floated aimlessly, each containing small glimpses of another ponies subconscious… their own personal dreamscape. Even now, in this tranquil abyss, I could feel waves of cold numbing my skin… the feeling of pins and needles washing over me.

The world shifted around and moved, rocketing by me at astonishing speeds… until it all came to a sudden stop in front of a very peculiar orb. While every other orb in the dream realm displayed a glimpse into the mind of the pony it was bound to, whether it be a joyful fantasy or terrifying nightmare; this orb was so much different, sporting a jet black exterior that seemed to not reflect the light… but completely absorb it.

This was it, there was no doubt about it. I’d never felt such an aura from a creature’s dream before.

I could feel it all, the cold… the hatred. An intense malice directed towards… something.

I lay my hoof on the bubble’s exterior, it’s smooth glass-like texture not showing a hint of even my own reflection. Igniting my horn, I concentrated on the floating object. I couldn’t let any time go to waste, who knows when he’ll wake up and cut me off. I poured even more magic into the orb in an attempt to penetrate it, but to no avail.

The creature going to such efforts to mask it’s subconscious… it surly must be hiding many terrible secrets, I had to keep trying.

So try I did. Over and over again I poked and prodded at the thing with my magic, trying to gain access to the hidden secrets underneath. Never before had a mind resisted my magic so easily before, and with a snort of annoyance I poured as much magic as I could into the spell.

Then, for a fraction of a second, a crack appeared on the orb… and everything disappeared. There was no sound, no explosion or… anything.

Just dark, dark silence.

Did the spell fail? Backfire? I could feel my anxiety slowly climbing as a numbing cold almost seeped into my skin from the shadows.

Slowly I took in a breath, and spoke.

“Hello?” My voiced echoed out, and I quickly realized something.

The spell worked, there was just... nothing here.

He hadn’t been shrouding his subconscious because this was his subconscious, memories and thoughts so suppressed it's like a dark abyss. It was something I’d never seen before… not in all of my years governing the dream realm. Even when ponies slept through the night with not but a dream or even a passing thought, their mind still filled in the gaps with… well anything it could.

Yet there was nothing here for as far as I could see. I noticed now, there wasn't just anger and malice permeating this realm... but fear as well. I lit up my horn in an attempt to brighten things up even a bit, however it was as if the darkness around me actively absorbed any light which touched it.

I sighed, before letting the spell unravel around me. The dream realm came apart like yarn, falling away as the real night sky once more revealed itself in all it's glory.

'I guess there's always tomorrow...' I thought to myself, before jumping off the balcony and taking flight.

Perhaps, Twilight can help.

Chapter 14: A Simple Job (Part 1)

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Chapter 14: A Simple Job (Part 1)

A light tapping on my shoulder slowly brought me back to the waking world as I groaned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. As I did a small weight that was present on my lap suddenly vanished, followed by the sound of ruffling bedsheets.

I blinked away the fuzziness of my vision as the room took shape, the memories of last night flowing back in earnest. My eyes snapped open, but my body remained completely still. My gaze stayed locked with the small figure atop the nearby bed, snuggled and hiding beneath the sheets. It was the same filly I’d helped last night… her small face peeking out from under the covers.

The sun still hadn’t come up, the room aglow with ghostly moonlight. The tiny pony wiggled a bit under the covers before twirling her two front hooves together shyly.

“Hi…” She spoke, her voice hoarse and barely above a whisper.

There was a short silence as I watched her shift uncomfortably.

“Are you hungry?” I asked gently, getting her to meet my gaze for a moment before looking downwards once more.

Zecora had packed plenty of supplies for the trip, though it was all back in the carriage. The only food I had in my pouch was whatever I had left in deer meat… and something told me that wasn’t an option.

I motioned to the front door with a wave of my hand. “I can get you something, but you’ll have to give me a minute, ok?” I explained as I stood and made my way past the bed.

She said nothing and watched me timidly as I pulled the door open, pausing as I went through before turning back with a shrug.

“Of course, you can still leave if you want. It’s not like I’m keeping you here.” I stated with a motion towards the window.

She looked out the moonlit glass and seemed to be thinking hard on something, before looking down with an unreadable expression. I took this as my queue to leave and slid out of the room, pulling the door shut behind me. Letting out a tired sigh I leaned against the door, resting the back of my head on it as I thought about how to go about handling this.

It didn’t take much observation to tell she was starving… or near starving. I could plainly see her ribs in the daylight earlier. With the state she was in it was obvious she had no parents, and no parents meant no-one to leave her with. Plus, judging by Herb’s reaction last night, she’s obviously tarnished her reputation around town.

Most here have never felt the pain of starvation, it’s maddening grip twisting in the pit of your stomach. It would drive even the best natured folks to evil out of desperation. I would help those I could back in Azeroth, the reason I learned alchemy in the first place.

But starvation was something that couldn’t be cured by elixirs or potions.

We also couldn’t take her with us, that was absolutely out of the question. It was just far too dangerous for a child to travel with someone… like me.

She’d end up dead, or worse, I’m certain of it.

I let out a gravelly sigh, before beginning the short journey back to the carriage. Descending the stairs towards the lobby I noticed how silent the inn currently was, with not a single soul roaming the darkened halls save for myself. Though the darkness seemed to scatter and give way to a bright atmosphere as I entered the main lobby. I noticed Herb working quietly nearby, sliding chairs off tables and setting them up… likely preparing for the morning rush.

The lobby was brightly lit, everything set out and ready for breakfast. I soaked in his features for the first time, as I couldn’t really do so late last night. He sported a dark burgundy coat, his black mane slick with product of some kind and combed back into a pompous looking hairdo whilst his tail came to a short stop only half way down his legs. The image on his flank resembled a small tea cup accompanied by a swirl of different herbal leaves.

That’s something I’ve noticed about these ponies… not a single pony shared the same mark. Well… not exactly. I’ve noticed similarly themed marks but each one is entirely unique in it’s own way.

I really should ask Zecora about those.

Herb paused his tidying for a moment as he spared me a quick glance, before letting out a sharp, annoyed sigh. Pushing the chair he was behind into the table, he turned to regard me as he fixed his crooked glasses.

“You can bring the thief-“ He paused as my glare hardened, getting him to quickly avert his own eyes and electing a small clearing of his throat. “Ahem… the child down for breakfast.” He stated as he pulled more chairs off the table with a huff. “Courtesy of Tusk.” He added low, a sour tone hanging from his voice.

The idea of giving her an actual breakfast instead of a random fruit from the carriage sounded like a much better plan, but I doubt I could get her to sit and eat in a public setting like this.

“Could you bring it up to the room?” I asked, earning a hesitant shake of his head.

“N-no, we don’t do room service here.” He replied back, wiping down the table with a cloth.

I pulled out a gold coin and placed it down where he had just wiped, slowly sliding it towards him as his eyes sparkled.

“Make an exception.”

It didn’t take long for the sun to crack the sky and begin the day, a warm glow beaming down uncomfortably on my neck from my seat by the window.

“What about an Abyssinian?” The filly questioned from her spot on the bed, shovelling another bite of what looked like fried hay into her mouth… gross.

“No.” I stated flatly, rolling my eyes at her persistent questions.

She chewed slowly as she mulled over her next guess. “If you’re not a Minotaur, and your not an Abyssinian, you’re…” She shot her hoof up victoriously. “-a diamond dog!”

“No.” I replied again, getting her hoof to fall onto the bed and electing a small *Pomf* from it as she groaned in annoyance.

“Well you’re not a pony!” She grumbled, taking a swig of her applejuice.

“How observant of you.” I quipped back jokingly, finally prompting a tiny giggle from her.

She was very reserved at first, but as soon as her breakfast arrived she became much more talkative. She was currently trying to guess what I was.

She’d be guessing for a while.

Poking at her food some more and scooping another bite into her mouth, she chewed happily as I scratched my chin out of habit.

“My name is Dalandor. Could I ask you yours?” I said softly, gaining her attention from the food quickly before swallowing and looking back down.

“J-Just call me Raven.” She mumbled out.

I furrowed my brow at her answer as she avoided my eyes and continued focusing on her food. That was a very odd name. Not to me, but just with how different it was from the names I’ve heard here so far for ponies.

Twilight Sparkle.

Shining Armor.

Fluttershy, Celestia, come on…

But Raven, now thats a weird one.

Part of me wanted to ask her about it, but I could tell the subject was a sensitive topic for her. The filly continued chowing down the assortment of hay, fruit and scrambled eggs albeit with a bit more apprehension. Thats when I noticed something odd, or rather it’s what I didn’t. There didn’t seem to be any mark on her flank like the other ponies I’d seen. That’s when it dawned on me that any of the children I’ve seen up to this point didn’t have them either.

Now I was really curious, is it possible it’s some kind of coming of age ritual? Perhaps done by their parents? If that was the case, it would make sense why she didn’t have one yet… though something tells me there’s more to it then that. I held off on asking anything about it, besides… the answer probably lay within one of the books which I already had in my possesion.

I really should give those a read…

“Can I…” Raven suddenly began, but hesitated as she poked her food and avoided my eyes. “Can… I come with you?”

The question caught me off guard, electing an owlish look from me as I stared back at her in silence. Her ears folded down tightly against her skull as she shrank a bit, but didn’t say a word.

I composed myself quickly, before sighing and shaking my head.

“You don’t know who, or even what I am, kid. I could be dangerous.” I began, getting the filly to shuffle in place. “Why the rush to leave?” I asked with a motion towards the window.

Her eyes screwed shut as she looked away, silence hanging in the air for a few awkward moments.

“I-“ Before she could answer a sudden knock at the door interrupted us.

I grasped for my axe out of reflex, my hand resting on the handle as I stood and quietly crossed the room. The filly stayed quiet from her spot at the bed, her ears folded down as she watched me with a look of hesitant curiosity.

I unhinged the latches and locks before pulling the door open a crack to a smiling Zecora. Letting my hand fall from my hip, I pulled the door open wide and could tell the difference in her coat from yesterday immediately, she was positively glowing. Her mane looked as if it had been touched up and her coat cleaned to a near sparkle.

She must have enjoyed that shower she spoke of so fondly.

Thats when I noticed the state I was in. My clothes still clinging to my body with large splotches of dark, dried blood printed all down my shirt. Worry and disgust spread over her face as she hurriedly shoved me back into the room, all whilst taking quick looks down the hall before swinging the door shut with a solid bang.

“Dal, what the hay happened to you!” She spoke in a hushed yell, followed by some words I couldn’t understand in presumably her own tongue. “Why are you covered in blood?!”

Rolling my eyes, I waved off her worry. “I’m fine, it’s not even mine.”

This elected a shake of her head as she let out a huff. “Thats not. The. Point!” She punctuated each word with a prod to my chest, before groaning and letting out a defeated sigh. “…what happened?”

My answer was to simply move aside. She looked at me questioningly for a moment before she noticed the only other presence in the room, currently watching us silently from atop the bed. She stood stock still, before quickly looking between Raven and I with a bewildered expression.

Sighing and pinching the bridge of my nose, I moved back to my chair and plopped myself down. “We were targeted by a couple of assassins.”

“Assassins?!” She hissed in surprise, a look of dread quickly filling her features.

“Two of em’, and yeah, assassins. I heard one mention a price on my head.” I stated coldly with a nod, electing a small gasp from her. “Seems I’ve already painted a target on my back, and I’ve barely even been here a week. This might be a record for me.”

She stared at me with a look of bewilderment, waiting for me to reveal this was all some kind of joke. When I didn’t she sat on her haunches, covering her face for a moment with her front hooves before dropping them to the floor and looking away from me.

“This… is my fault isn’t it?” She asked hesitantly, electing a shocked look from me.

“You’re asking if it’s your fault because they didn’t murder you that night? No, Zecora. It’s not your fault. Wanting to live isn’t a crime.” I stated back fiercely as she locked eyes with me for a moment, a look of surprise visible on her face before she quickly returned to studying the ground… as if searching for what to say.

“Do you think theres more?” She asked quieter this time, a twinge of worry seeping into her voice as she glanced to the front door.

Sighing, I closed my eyes for a moment before shaking my head.

“I don’t know. At this point I assume we have at least a few days before they know we’re still alive. And that’s only if they traveled at the same speed we did. Though, it seemed like they were waiting for us here already so I wouldn’t hold your breath.” I answered in defeat, motioning out the nearby window. “When word does get back, who know’s what they’ll send.”

The silence after that was so thick I could almost taste it in the air. The moment stretched on until the other occupant in the room, who’d until now had been completely silent, finally made herself known as she shifted a bit on the bed.

Zecora turned to her with a warm smile. “And who’s this little one?” She asked in a softer voice, getting the little filly to shift a bit in place.

“That’s… another thing.” I began, rapping my fingers against my knee and glancing at Raven. “She got involved… it’s my fault. I should’ve scouted the area before I baited them out.” I admitted as I looked down at my hip and the still bloody axe hanging from it.

“Baited them out? How long have you known they were around?” She asked as I blinked once, before leaning back a bit in my chair.

“Since the Hearthstone.” I stated flatly as she stared back in shock.

“You never thought to let me in on that? That maybe your travel-mate should know these things?” She spoke with an annoyed tone. “Sisters sake Dal, I went out last night to get you medicine!” She paused as she flipped open the saddle bag on her hip and pulled out a large green bottle.

As she set it on the ground, I looked between the bottle and herself as realization sunk in. She’d been out last night on her own and I had no idea. If they got their chance they could have…

“Luckily,” She started again, breaking my train of thought. “It was pretty busy that night. A lot of ponies were coming in and out of the inn for drink, so I guess thats the only reason I wasn’t targeted?” She let the question hang for a moment, before letting out a small huff. “If we’re traveling together, we have to be honest. No more secrets.”

There was a long silence after that as I stared at the bottle.

“I’m sorry.” I finally spoke out, getting one of her ears to flutter. “You’re right. You’re damn lucky they didn’t capitalize on that. I won’t…” I gave out a sigh, before looking back up to her. “I won’t hide anything else from you, I promise.”

She looked at me in surprise. Though it passed quickly and she took on a thoughtful look, as if there was still something she wanted to ask. With a shake of her head she let out a sigh and turned to the one other occupant in the room who had been sitting silent on the nearby bed.

Looking at her with a warm smile, which the filly returned with a hesitant look, Zecora spoke in a soft, gentle tone.

“I’m very sorry little one, is there someone we can drop you off with?” At the question the filly’s expression fell slightly as she shook her head, her ears flattening down.

Zecora and I shared looks for a moment, before she turned back to Raven and gave her a wave towards the door. “Come on, lets get you cleaned up.”

She ushered the small filly to the front door, who reluctantly followed her commands as they both made their exit. Zecora stopped in the doorway before turning back to me, scanning my figure with a slight hint of disgust.

“And for Sisters sake Dal, clean yourself up!” She commanded in a harsh whisper, electing a grumble from me as the door clicked shut.

I stomped into the nearby bathroom and set work to cleaning off what I could. The blood just wouldn’t come out of the fabric, but that was to be expected. It did, however, wash off the axe’s fel iron edge with ease. The running water from the sink flowed against it as my thumb worked the offending liquid off.

Once I was satisfied with the cleanliness of my weapon, I shed my clothes and wrapped them in some linen before stuffing the bundle away into my pouch. As I opened the box given to me by Fluttershy and browsed through my options, I found a peculiar pair of things at the bottom. Yanking them out, I stared at the pair of black, lace up shoes and facepalmed.

Those would have been nice to wear before the walk here. I swore to myself for not checking the whole box when I first changed, before sighing and pulling out a new set. These ones were completely black, matching the cloak I wore last night. I think maybe that Rarity took my request for nothing colorful seriously, maybe even a little too seriously.

Theres such a thing as being so inconspicuous you double back around you know…

The pants slid on fine but as I moved to put on the shirt something strange caught my eye in the mirror. I stopped and looked at my reflection, more confusion creeping in the longer I stared. Slowly bringing my hand up to my face I rubbed my cheek… a scratchy, sandpaper-like texture brushing against my fingertips.

“What the fuck?” I blurted out as I took in the strangest thing I’d seen since arriving in this world.

I had a goddamn 5 o’clock shadow.

It was barely noticeable, probably couldn’t even be considered stubble yet… but it was there.

Even though the proof was undeniable, I still couldn’t believe it as I stared dumbly at my reflection. I was pulled from my stupor as a loud series of knocks rattled on the bathroom door.

“Dal, are you ready yet?” Zecora’s muffled voice asked from the other side.

My mouth was dry as I swallowed, looking into the mirror one last time before shaking my head.

“Y-Yeah… hold on.” I replied as I quickly pulled on my remaining clothing and opened the door.

Zecora pulled back a bit in surprise as I did, but recovered quickly and motioned to the nearby bed containing a certain filly. Her wing feathers were still a bit disheveled, but the blood and dirt staining her coat seems to have been washed out.

Zecora pulled me over to the front entrance and whispered in a hushed voice. “I cleaned her up a bit but she wasn’t very talkative, she asked if…” Zecora paused as she bit her lip, before shaking her head and sighing. “Where did you find her anyway?”

Glancing to the filly in question, who quickly averted her eyes and focused on the blanket she was fiddling with, I shrugged.

“She was just hiding behind some boxes when I got jumped. Pretty sure she’s been on her own for a while.” I stated, getting a raised brow from her.

“What makes you say that?”

“Saw her pinch some fruit from a stand when we arrived, snatched it like a pro too.” I said with a small smirk. “I've seen others of her ilk before.” I added motioning to the filly. “Looks like she’s been on the verge of starvation for days, maybe even weeks.”

“I can hear you, you know…” The filly spoke up from the bed as she looked at me in annoyance, before turning her gaze to the nearby window. “I get by.”

There was a long silence as Zecora and I stared at her, before Zecora bumped my side and motioned towards the hall. I followed her closely and clicked the door shut behind me.

“We have to drop her off somewhere safer.” Zecora began as I spun around and shook my head.

“Like where? I’m sure if they had an orphanage around here she’d already be there.” I answered with defeat.

“Take her with us then.” Zecora stated simply. “Until we find someone we can leave her with.”

“…what?” I replied dumbfounded, staring blankly at the zebra. “Are you nuts Zecora? She’d be in even greater danger with us!” I spoke with increasing intensity, but stopped as a pony exited their room and gave us a strange look.

It was the same drunken pony from last night, his brown mane completely disheveled and his eyes bloodshot. Though he tried to cover it up with a hard look which did little to hide the nausea behind his gaze. He brushed at some dirt staining his olive colored coat, before giving up with an annoyed snort. He walked past us down the hall and towards the Main lobby, each of his steps echoing out as he descended down the stairs and out of sight.

Turning to Zecora again I continued but this time at a whisper. “Whoever these guys were last night wont give up, and whoever is behind this obviously has a lot of money and connections… once word gets back about their failure I’m sure we can expect more.” I paused as I waved to the door behind me. “She’d just become another target.”

Zecora looked like she wanted to argue, however I could see in her eyes she knew I was right.

Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Let me talk to someone, maybe I can figure something out. Stay in public areas when I’m not around, okay?” I asked, placing a hand on her back.

She looked hesitant for a moment, before nodding slowly and sighing. “Okay.”

I didn’t say anything else and moved aside as she reentered the room. The door clicked shut and I let out a small breath I didn’t know I was holding, before hastily taking my leave. The lobby of the inn was bustling with both early risers and hungover patrons; shovelling breakfast down their gullets and socializing, or groaning in pain as they cradled a cup of orange juice and massaged their temples.

There was just one group in particular that wasn’t present…

Khana, Cragg and Tusk. I never observed the other two very closely, however I did note the one called ‘Khana’ seemed to have a slightly more feminine build.

Slightly.

Herb, the innkeeper, moved about and greeted random patrons as they ate, his eyes flashing towards my direction for a moment but paying me nothing more than the single glance. I made my way to the bar table and leaned against it, waiting as he went about his checks before he finally rounded back to me.

“I thought you were leaving this morning?” He whispered as he passed me, going behind the bar and digging under the table for something.

“I have to talk to Tusk.” I answered, looking over the dining room and electing a sudden short laugh from the pony.

“Usually not such an easy feat,” He quipped as he pulled out a big bottle of unopened brownish liquor and set it on the table with a solid clink. “Luckily for you, he’d also like a word.” He stated, nodding to the door behind the counter as he shoved the bottle forward.

I raised an eyebrow at him and tentatively reached for the bottle, sliding it towards myself and inspecting it closer. The bottle was unmarked, it’s sticker having already been ripped off. Herb got up with a small grunt and took off to continue his work as I grasped the bottle he’d left, glancing at the door behind the bar table.

Sighing, I pushed off the table and made my way to it. I’d seen Herb and Tusk go through it a couple times, I could only assume it was some kind of personal housing section. My suspicions were more or less confirmed as I pushed it open and a much different aesthetic greeted me back.

The walls looked like polished oak with a fitting trim across the bottom, the floors clean and unmarked hardwood. Ahead of me stretched out a short hallway, a few doors littered about and cracked open varying amounts… all but one of them housing a darkened interior. Paintings adorned the walls, not just random pieces of art but what looked to be family photos of some kind. I recognized Herb in a couple of them, and a few with different ponies I could only assume were family or close friends of some kind.

A couple photos even had Tusk in them, though he looked a lot younger as he stood side by side with another minotaur I hadn’t met yet. A crackling sound from one of the nearby doors caught my attention as my gaze broke from the photos. I approached the open door and lightly pushed it open, revealing a small study bathed in the orange glow of a roaring fireplace.

Large decorative drapes were pulled tight over the room’s windows, letting none of the morning’s light through. Tusk faced me as he sat at a large desk with his head down, peering at the many sheets of parchment in-front of him. His right hand squeezed tightly around a long quill, the end of which looked worn and torn up as he scratched it against his temple… his gaze angrily locked onto the documents.

“Just, leave it over there Herb.” He spoke up in his gruff voice, gesturing lazily with his free hand to the end of his desk.

I strode forward and placed the bottle down with a loud clink. “Little early for the hard stuff, don’t you think?”

His gaze snapped to me as I spoke, a look of surprise adorning his features for only a moment before it disappeared and was replaced with a hard look.

He replied with a grunt, reaching forward and taking the bottle. “Not if you haven’t slept. To what do I owe the pleasure?” He asked dismissively as he dragged over a nearby cup with an inch of water left in it, likely from long since melted ice.

He shot back the water quickly before filling the glass halfway with the brown alcohol.

I raised a brow at him before crossing my arms. “I have my reasons, but Herb mentioned you wanted a word too.”

Tusk looked at me for a moment before shaking his head and letting out an annoyed sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand.

“…yeah. I did.” He stood as he took a sizeable gulp of his drink, before setting it down on his desk and motioning me forward. “Take a seat.” He stated as he moved to the corner where a single chair sat, dragging it over and planting it infront of his desk.

He walked back around and took a seat in his own solid wood armchair. It dwarfed the other chair in size easily, and creaked as he sat down before gesturing again to the seat across from him. I sat in the chair as he leaned back and took the glass of alcohol with him.

He took a smaller sip this time, cringing a bit a the taste before looking at me and pointing a single finger. “You’re a mercenary, right?”

I stared at him for a moment longer, before leaning forward on the table and clasping my hands together.

“Is that a problem?” I asked calmly, getting a shake of his head.

“Not at all, actually…” He paused as he reached down and pulled up a large sack which jingled loudly. “I wanted to hire you.” He stated as he dropped the sack on the desk.

I stared at his offer, the large pouch obviously brimming full with bits, before looking back to him with a squint.

“I’ve no interest in coin.” I stated dismissively, his face emotionless as he leaned back electing a groan of displeasure from the chair.

“I thought you might say that.” He shot back while raising a finger, before reaching into his desk once more and pulling out a rolled up piece of parchment. “Found this before we buried those two. I’m willing to add this to my offer, if it pleases you?”

I stared at the document sitting on the desk between Tusk and myself. It had a stain of blood covering half of it but closed tightly by the seal binding it. For a moment, I considered snatching the thing and running… but the look on Tusk’s face gave me pause.

Something told me not to give this guy a reason. I’ve held my own against large foes before, but it’s not about how big an enemy is more so than how they use their strength in a fight. And judging by the faded scars present on his body he’s seen his own fair share of conflict.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” I finally said with a nod, extracting a small smirk from him as he went to speak. “But, like I said before… I didn’t come here for coin. I’ve got my own terms.”

There was a short silence as he scanned me intently, before he gestured forward with one hand. “Go on then.”

“Raven, the child from last night.” I began, pointing at the door I came in from. “I want you to help her.”

He let out a thoughtful hum as he leaned further back in his chair, the old oak threatening to give out under the immense pressure. “Hm… and help her how, exactly?”

“Give her a place to stay, even if you make her work for it. Just… something to keep her from becoming gutter filth.” I asked, practically spitting the last few words out in anger. “I’ve seen too many suffering children in my lifetime, and far too few of them got a second chance.”

He tapped his fingers against the table loudly as he stared me down with a steely look. After what felt like an eternity, he picked up the sack of coins and stuffed it back into his desk before shooting back the remainder of his drink.

Standing from his spot, he reached over the table and offered me his right hand. “Deal.” He stated gruffly as I looked between him and his outstretched arm.

I was a bit surprised by the familiar custom, but didn’t dwell on it too much as I grasped it with my own and gave a firm shake. I could feel the warmth of his grip compared to the freezing surface of my skin, and he took on a look of bewilderment for a moment as he glanced to my hand. A shot of panic ran through me for a moment and I quickly let go, my hand returning to my side as Tusk looked at me with an unreadable expression.

Shaking his head, he walked past me silently out into the hall. He stopped as he left the room, before turning to me and waving me over.

“Follow me…” He stated gruffly.

He disappeared to the right down the hall, but I hesitated for a moment as I ran that scenario through my mind once more. Lifting up my hand, I looked into my palm as I rubbed my fingers together. It felt so… normal to me that I often forget how noticeable my cold skin really is.

I should be more careful. The last thing I want to explain to these people, or ponies, is what a Death Knight is… or even undead in general.

I silently followed him out of the room and down the hall, passing the darkened room’s I’d seen before until we came to a closed door at the end. As he pulled it open I peeked around him and scanned it’s interior, the inside housing an assortment of fruits and veggies lined up on various shelves.

Tusk let out a grunt as he reached behind the doorframe and pulled on something I couldn’t see, electing a small click as the front shelf lowered a bit. A moment later it swung open, revealing a hidden stairway descending into the depths of the inn.

“I’m sure you’ve noticed it, the unspoken anger that infects the town.” He started as we descended down into the dark basement, the stairs creaking under each step. “Nopony talks about it, but you must have noticed the way everypony seems distant.”

I nodded at his words, though he couldn’t see it from my place behind him. “I just came from Ponyville and yeah, it was a bit of a change.”

“Wasn’t always like that, but many here still grieve a terrible loss.” He explained with a hint of sadness in his tone.

As we made it to the bottom he flicked a single switch on the wall nearby. There was a few moments where nothing happened, until the sound of clicking machinery could be heard through the walls as the room was suddenly bathed in a multicolored glow. Illuminating the whole room were a series of gems planted into the ceiling, each emitting a dim light and bathing the room in it’s prismatic display. Situated in the middle of the cellar was a large table, loose documents spread across it haphazardly.

The rest of the basement was mostly empty save for a few pieces of furniture, all of which were wrapped in white sheets and shoved up against the walls.

“Back, about three years ago now, there was an accident at one of the mines.” He continued as he approached the table, shuffling some pages around before sliding one out of the pile. “We’d been excavating around Hearthstone mountain, and wouldn’t you believe we hit the jackpot.”

Walking up to the table I focused on the page he presented, narrowing my eyes as I tried to understand the finely printed document. It was hard for me to read the small text, and there was so much information it was a bit overwhelming. I decided to just stick to reading the headlines.

”Could Quartz Junction strike riches? Insider Report.”

”Mayor to release statement on findings, safety concerns linger.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “So you guys hit the mother lode. What exactly was the problem?”

“Getting to that, like I said… there was an accident.” Tusk repeated as he threw another page down, the headline catching my eye immediately.

”Tragic cave in leaves families in mourning, eight presumed dead.”

I squinted at the pages as I looked between them, glancing over the names but not really commiting any of them to memory.

“They never were able to do a rescue mission, only a handful of unicorns made the job too dangerous and too much time had passed once aid arrived. The town grieved and moved on, though many broken families never recovered.” Tusk explained as he leaned against the table, glancing over all the strewn about pages.

“Okay, so where do I come into this?” I asked, sliding a page towards myself.

It looked like an old overexposed picture of somewhere around Hearthstone mine, depicting a brand new mineshaft jutting out of the rocky surface.

“I think the mayor is full of shit.” Tusk growled out as his fists clenched shut, the table letting out a groan of displeasure from his pressing weight.

He tossed a picture down on the table of a pony I hadn’t met yet. He wore what appeared to be the top half of a tuxedo, or perhaps thats just what tuxedos look like here, though it was stretching to fit someone of his… generousness. His coat was pure white, his short horn barely poking through his curly purple mane.

“Thats him, mayor Evergold. Around this time he always find a reason to be out of town. And since the collapse, he’s cut off any and all projects around the mountain. Said it was ‘Too dangerous to work on’, that the existing Hearthstone exhibit would provide us with steady income. But I think he’s up to something… I just need proof.” Tusk explained as he shuffled the papers around some more.

“What makes you think your mayor is hiding something from you?” I asked as I tried to look at some of the pages he moved around.

He let out a small chuckle, before shaking his head. “I’ve got my own eyes and ears around here. I know he’s been exporting something out without claiming it, not to mention he’s replaced the royal guard around town with his own private hires. He’s definitely hiding something.” He stated with a nod. “That’s what you’re for. I can’t just go sneaking around town, everyone knows who I am. I need someone who wont draw attention, a stranger.”

I stayed quiet this time and crossed my arms, listening to his briefing with increasing interest.

“I’ve tracked down one suspicious caravan, here-“ He put another page down and pointed to a specific line, “This carriage enters the town in the dead of night on the first of every month, but declares no cargo and leaves before dawn.”

I took his word for it and nodded along. Replacing the guards was already suspicious enough, and now a mystery caravan?

“Just one problem… I can’t just confront the mayor with what I have. He’d simply destroy any possible evidence before I ever got the crown’s attention. But at least I’ve managed to stay under the radar with my investigations, and I hope to keep it that way.” He paused, sliding another blurry image towards me. “The caravan should be arriving tonight, I want you to follow them and see what you can figure out.”

I gave a small nod as I reached down for the page to examine it closer.

“Hold on.” He added suddenly, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. “You need to be subtle about this. We don’t want to attract any attention until we can get something we can work with. If I’m right and the mayor did have a hoof in all this, that bastard needs to pay for every life he’s ruined. We only have one chance.” I could feel his grip tighten a bit around my shoulder as he finished his little speech.

His tone wasn’t malicious nor threatening, instead commanding an air of seriousness that was backed up by his hard stare.

I looked at him only for a moment before giving a firm nod back.

“It will be done.”

The door let out a click as I turned the key and pushed it open, revealing my striped travel companion along with the ‘Stray’ we were currently housing. Raven was napping blissfully on the bed in the exact spot where the sun’s glow landed, interrupted only by the occasional whinny or twitch of her hoof.

Zecora sat focused on her journal, concluding something in writing with her quill before spitting it out into the book and closing it tight.

“Did you talk to your… friend?” She asked, glancing at the snoozing filly.

I crossed the room quickly and donned my hanging cloak, before motioning for Zecora to follow me over to the door. She silently moved with me to the other side of the room, sliding her journal back into her saddlebag as I set my hands on my hips and sighed.

“…we have to stay one more night while I sort it out.” I explained as I felt her eyes on my back, waiting for me to continue.

When I didn’t she took a step towards me. “Sort it out? What more is there to sort out? Is there…” She paused for a moment, before continuing quieter and glancing towards the door. “…more? Of them?”

Turning to face her, I flicked my gaze towards Raven once more before sighing and waving to the door behind me. “No, as far as I’m aware there isn’t anyone else stalking us.” As I said it she breathed a small sigh of relief. “And they said they’ll take the kid off us, but they want a job done in return.”

She stared at me for a moment longer, before shaking her head and furrowing her brow. “They? A job? What does that mean, who’s they? And what kind of ‘Job’?”

I tried to wave away her worry. “A simple one. Just some surveillance work.”

“So spying.” She stated flatly, electing an annoyed groan from me. “So I suppose coming back every day covered in blood or dressed like a lurking assassin is normal for you?”

“Look,” I snapped with an accusatory finger, causing her to suddenly reel back a bit. “I’m not just some wandering vagrant. I’ve lived by the blade my whole life, and quite frankly it’s why I’m still alive. From time to time I take on jobs that I-” I paused, pointing to myself, “-deem necessary. And sometimes yes, it means I will be covered in blood… and you can swear on your gods that if I can help it, it won’t be my own.”

Her eyes were wide as she scanned my face. I let out a huff and turned away, the slumbering filly nearby moving a bit and catching my eye. When she didn’t move again after a few seconds I turned back to Zecora, getting her ears to fold back a bit at my stare.

“If you want to travel with me, you’ll have to come to terms with that.” I stated rudely as I pulled the door shut with a small bang.

Just as I went to move away a wave of guilt washed over me, the scenario which had just transpired running freshly though my mind.

‘You know she didn’t deserve that…’ I scorned myself as I glanced back. ‘No… no I warned her that this would happen right?’

Regardless, a small twinge of regret rang out in the back of my mind as I considered opening the door and apologizing… or at least rewording what was said. She’s done nothing but worry for all our safety, even going so far as to getting me medicine for my night terrors…

But whether it be stubbornness, sheer stupidity or even a mix of both… I didn’t. Instead I settled for muttering a few expletives as I pinched the bridge of my nose and marched out of the hall.

This was exactly why I preferred to travel alone. I'd choose to avoid partying with anyone simply out of worry of driving them away. I didnt exactly have a good track record controlling my rage.

I let out a huff and shook my head. I’d deal with that problem tomorrow... I couldn’t have any distractions right now, not when it was time to work.

It was still quite early, so I decided to use this time effectively to better prepare for the job I’d received. Before I left Tusk filled me in on a couple extra details, like how the carriage doesn't arrive until at least an hour after the sun goes down. That gave me plenty of time to work with.

I made a mental checklist of what to do, just as I always did before I start a quest.

Scout the area, prepare some potions to counter possible ‘obstacles’, and set up a camp to fall back to.

After all, sometimes you never know what kind of heat comes with a job until it’s too late.

I suppose task three is already handled with the Inn, though Herb did say he wanted us gone by today. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind… considering it’s a job for Tusk.

Also, some of the information I got from him was… shaky, to say the least. Some ‘Operation’ of the mayor’s might be going on somewhere around the base of Hearthstone Mountain. The most I’ve got to work with is some carriage that arrives the first of each month to, presumably, export something out under the cover of night. A good starting point would be the original mineshaft which was closed down after the accident.

The mountain’s northern side faced the town, with the old collapse he mentioned situated on it’s easternmost side. Though to call it a mountain seemed like a slight exaggeration to me… walking around the base of the thing would probably take no more than a few hours.

I pushed through the Inn’s exit as the morning sun greeted me harshly, it’s blinding rays assaulting my eyes with gusto. I was starting to miss the overcast weather Azeroth had from time to time. Equis, with their consistently clear skies and blistering sun, was beginning to grate my nerves… and threatening to give me one hell of a sunburn.

Hearthstone mountain stood in the distance as I drew in a small breath, letting it out in a silent sigh and starting my march. I looked around my pouch as I weaved through the busy streets and the ponies crowding them, careful not to walk into somepony as I focused on inspecting my available herbs. I swore to myself as I combed through them, there was barely anything left in here! Probably only enough for a couple healing potions at best.

I groaned and facepalmed, remembering that Zecora had most of my herbs with her… along with a few tomes of mine and my old vial heater. We figured that since she was going through the trouble of teaching me Equish it would be fitting if she learned a bit of Common. At the time it seemed like a good idea, she’d be able to read alchemical tomes herself which freed up time for me to practice my reading more.

Well that backfired unexpectedly.

Shaking my head, a scowl spread across my face as I continued my march onwards.

I knew I could return back to the Inn and get them from her, apologizing for my harsh words in the process… but I stubbornly pushed on anyway. I’d just have to use what I’ve got.

The two guards posted at the gate did little to check any ponies coming in or out besides the occasional glance. They didn’t really seem interested in anything happening around us, much less observant than the guard’s I’ve seen so far. Their armor was also plain grey, each sporting plenty of random dents and markings over it’s dirty exterior… a far-cry from the elegant gold and blue designs I’d seen in Ponyville.

If I didn’t believe Tusk that something fishy was going on before, I certainly did now. He was obviously right about those private hires, there’s definitely something going on that he wants away from royal eyes.

Hopefully where I’m going could provide another lead of some kind…

The trip across the patchy and hilly fields was short as the ground slowly shifted to a light incline, more and more boulders cluttering the area as I neared Hearthstone ‘Mountain.’ I walked the same path I had previously for the tour, however instead of following it all the way to the mountain’s northern end I steered left and continued towards it’s eastern side.

The clutter covering much of the ground quickly came to a halt as an old wooden mineshaft came into view, partially sticking out of the mountain’s side

I stepped over some loose stones on the ground and examined the area around the landmark. The wood frame was surprisingly well preserved, though the nearby dirt was overturned and messy as though someone had been here recently. A yellow glint caught my eye further inside the mineshaft as I squinted, trying to peer into the darkness. After a moment of consideration, I tentatively stepped inside the shaft’s maw. A lot of the ground was actually cleared away, leaving plenty of room to walk around inside… though I was still careful where I stepped.

There was a collapse here after all.

I came to the end of the shaft and scanned the rubble which piled itself to the ceiling, blocking any further exploration. Pressed into one of the larger stones was a small golden plaque. I realized now that ponies must come here often to pay respects to their dead.

I moved closer to the memorial, trying to read the text on the dust covered plate. Wiping it a bit with my thumb I carefully read the listed names.

It was just a memorial for those ponies I’d seen on one of Tusk’s documents. My eyes drifted over their names for a bit longer, but like before not committing any to memory. Before I could move away however, the feeling of cold eyes suddenly planted itself firmly on my back.

The sensation made my skin crawl for a moment as I tensed, my arm slowly lowering towards my hanging axe.

“Who’s there.” I stated coldly as I spun around towards the entrance, barely catching a glimpse of the dark figure ducking out of sight.

A few moments of silence went by, until Raven peeked her head out from around the corner. “How do you do that?” She asked with an annoyed look.

Furrowing my brow in confusion for a moment I crossed my arms and stared her down. “Why are you following me?”

As the question left my tongue she sheepishly looked down. “I come here every day. Well, almost every day…” She mumbled as she kicked the ground.

A feeling of somber realization washed over me as I glanced back to the etched names. “You… lost someone here?”

She gave a small nod and pointed to the plaque. “Fourth name, second column.”

I turned back to the plaque, going down the list to the name she specified. “Flint-hoof?” I asked, getting a solemn nod from the filly. “…I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I got… I got over it a long time ago.” She said with mild hesitation, before turning to me with a pleading look. “That’s why you have to let me come with you. I… I hate this place! And I hate it more with every passing moon! All of these ponies treat me like bucking dirt, like they’re better than me because they were born with magic or earth pony strength! Not some… useless wings!” Her voice cracked a bit as she shouted out the last few words, tears threatening to fall from her glistening purple eyes.

I stared at her in silence as she spilled her thoughts out, before letting out a tired sigh. “I understand… but I can’t. You’d surely die.”

“I can take care of myself, you won’t even know I’m there!” She added in desperation, taking a step forward and raising a hoof to her chest. “I… I can fly! I can be an eye in the sky for you… please, I just…” The filly collapsed onto her haunches and bowed her head in defeat, a couple tears finally dripping down her muzzle and into the dirt.

I watched Raven as she sat unmoving in front of me. I felt… conflicted. I couldn’t just let her come with me, but she’s seemingly suffered too much to live here comfortably. My fists clenched in annoyance as I groaned, before shaking my head and letting out a huff.

‘Get that note, fix the assassin problem, then…’

“When I'm done this job, Tusk agreed to give you a place to stay. You’ll have work, and you can earn your place.” I paused as I tried to read her reaction, her eyes scanning the ground as she thought hard on my words. “Look. It’d be much safer for you to stay here, under Tusk’s watch. Not many in your position are offered a second chance like this. But, if you still intend to leave this place… you can come with us.”

Her head snapped up as her mouth upturned into a small, hopeful smile. Lifting one of my hands I silenced her attempt to speak.

“After you’re sure. My… party, the path we’re heading will take us further north yet, but we’ll be returning to Ponyville and I plan on having this… issue fixed by then.” I stated with a small motion to my axe. “Hopefully. So if the time comes and you still desire to leave… we’ll take you with us to Ponyville.” I finished with a nod.

Silence reigned for a moment as she thought on my words. Letting out a slow breath, she looked at the collapsed rubble behind me one last time before nodding.

“Ok…” She finally admitted, “I trust you. I’ll stay and… try to fit in.” She replied in a defeated tone as she turned to leave.

“Wait, you said you come here often?” I asked, electing a tentative nod from her. “Did you ever see any suspicious ponies come around?”

Squinting a bit, she scratched her chin and hummed. “Well… a lot of ponies come around here, it is a memorial after all.”

Shrugging, I nodded with a sigh. I suppose thats about the answer I expected.

“There is that one pony though…” She mumbled to herself, looking at me for a moment before pointing out of the mineshaft. “He always goes that way, actually he doesn't even stop here at all. He always smells gross, too.”

I raised a eyebrow at her strange description as I peered behind her, towards the shaft’s entrance. “Gross? Gross how?”

“Gross like that stuff from the bar. He probably already went by though… I usually only see him right after the sun is raised.” She explained as I hummed in realization.

‘He smelled like booze, then. That’s not a bad piece of info…’

Though, I couldn’t help but notice the end of her sentence… made no sense.

’After it was raised? No, I must have misheard…’

“Why? Is something wrong?” She asked worriedly as she turned to face me fully, one of her front hooves lifting slightly off the ground.

I stared at her in silence for a moment, before motioning towards the exit. “You should get going, and stop following me around. I have a bad habit of hurting those that sneak up on me.”

She didn’t seem at all deterred by my warning as she scanned me with her eyes, before spinning on her hooves and running off. With a small leap she flapped out of sight, finally leaving me alone once again. Walking up to the mouth of the mineshaft, I squinted my eyes as I peered into the sky to confirm she was gone before I committed to my next action.

Then again, she’d already seen me decapitate somepony so who’s to say shapeshifting into a worgen would even surprise her at this rate. For how young she was, she sounded quite mature. Though I didn’t consider that a positive… not when they’re that young. I just hoped this note from Tusk gives me some vital information, but the real question is if it doesn't… am I going back on my promise to her?

…

No, I wouldn’t. I’d keep her safe and deliver her to Ponyville. But I still have hope she will find her purpose here…

Three. Years.

Three years ago that kid lost her father, and the fact she didn’t bring up anyone else leads me to believe her family tree ends with her.

I can’t fix the past, but I can at least help secure her future. If things turn out right and I find some proof of the mayor’s involvement… well it wouldn’t fix her heart but at least it would give her some closure.

Exhaling out slowly, a mantle of cold mist draped over my body and enveloped me completely in it’s cool grasp.

My form twisted and morphed, my senses kicking into high gear as I stretched my newly formed limbs out. The process finally finished, the chill receding as relief washed over me. I couldn’t exactly explain why but while it fatigued me to use my worgen form too often, not using it enough tended to make me feel… claustrophobic.

The black cloak draping over my shoulders did well to hide my form from prying eyes, from behind at least. I pulled the hood down over my head, concealing my face the best I could before stepping out of the mineshaft. I sniffed at the air, looking for any scents which stood out from the rest.

A particularly familiar smell brushed past my nose for a moment as my snout gave a small twitch. The scent reminded me of that Stonebrew from Tusk’s, and was no doubt what Raven had meant. I sniffed at the air a bit more, before pinning down the direction it was coming from and following it slowly. It seemed to lead along the side of the mountain, just as the filly had said, as if he had bypassed the memorial entirely and just kept going.

With all the projects around the mountain being canceled, it really begged the question as to what exactly he’s doing all the way out here.

A couple hours passed as I kept a slow pace, tentatively sniffing the air every time I moved past an open crevice in the wall just to be sure I wasn’t passing some kind of hidden entrance. I was putting an awful lot of stock in this one lead… but it was the only other lead I had for now so what choice did I have. The ground wasn’t actually that bad around this side of the mountain, much of the clutter having been cleared up with only the occasional, albeit massive, boulder situated nearby.

I passed a particularly large rock as I followed the smell, however thats also the same moment I lost track of it. I tilted my head a bit in confusion as I turned in place, sniffing around and trying to reacquire the scent. The ground I stood on was steeped in shadow from the nearby looming boulder, which towered over me at fifty feet or more at least, covering not only where I’m standing in darkness but a part of the nearby mountain face as well.

Thats when my nose picked up the scent again, though it did nothing but leave me more confused than before. I stared at the rocky mountain face, inspecting it all over but noticing nothing out of the ordinary. I gave another sniff, confirming my suspicions as the scent of booze reached my nostrils.

Taking a few steps towards the mountain, I knelt down and inspected it closer. Nothing in particular stood out of place… but I could feel as if, whilst I stared at the rocky surface, that something was staring back. I hummed to myself and reached forward, but just as I was about to lay my hand on the stone I could suddenly feel more eyes on me from behind, causing me to freeze up for a moment.

Spinning on my heels, my eyes locked with a small dark figure peeking out over the top of the nearby boulder.

However, before I could so much as even process who, or what, I was looking at… a loud crack rang out as I fell forward into a heap. My vision exploded into stars as the world rapidly spun around me. I shakily lifted a claw to my head as a cold, wet sensation flowed down the back of my neck.

Using my free arm, I dragged myself a couple feet away before righting myself up. I tried to reach for my axe, unfortunately the disorientation proved too much as I fumbled with the leather cording binding it to my hip. I looked back towards the rock face and watched as a pony ran through it. A blue glow outlined him as he passed through the seemingly solid wall, a large chunk of it shimmering as he went. He quickly crossed the distance to where I lay in barely a second before crashing into my right side, throwing me onto my back.

He didn’t waste a moment and pushed forward, delivering a hard stomp straight to my face. Darkness fell over me instantly as I tumbled into the unconscious abyss.

A sharp and throbbing pain was the first sensation to greet me to the waking world, electing a sharp inhale from me as I quickly sat up. The whole world spun as I did, barely giving me enough time to lean over before unloading the contents of my stomach onto the dark stone floor.

Just then I felt a hoof set itself on my shoulder. “Easy-“

However the moment it made contact with me I spun around and gripped onto it, pulling hard and yanking him closer before grasping his neck with my free hand.

I tried to squeeze harder, but I found my strength failing me as he quickly pried himself from my grip and scooted away. I collapsed in place, heaving as I set my hand on the back of my pounding head. Shifting into a seated position and crossing my legs, I grunted as I leaned against the cold stone wall and stared down the only other pony here.

He cleared his throat as he sat on his haunches. “Take it easy, I’m not gonna hurt you.” He reassured as he rubbed his throat. “Ponyfeathers, thats gonna leave a bruise.”

“Well I was trying to kill you.” I stated in a low tone as I brought my hand back around, confirming the still bleeding wound on the back of my head. “Where am I? How long was I out?” I demanded, reaching for my hip and finding both my axe and pouch missing. “Where are my things.” I added coldly, suddenly realizing just how bad a situation I was in.

As I asked I took a quick look around, the area almost completely black would it not be for the cracks of hearthstone peeking through the stone walls. It ran like thin veins through the rock, giving just enough light to keep you from walking into something but nothing more.

I could see the area we were in was small, even with us each on opposite sides we were less than a couple long strides from eachother. There was no visible way out, though I did see a crack on the wall to my left which was less than an inch or two wide at most.

The pony who I’d just attempted to strangle straightened his glasses a bit. They were round trimmed but horribly cracked, one would say it’d be worth just going without at that point.

“Hearthstone mountain, and maybe a couple minutes?” He said with a shrug. “They only just-“ Though, anything he was about to say was abruptly cut off as the nearby wall with the crack began to shimmer.

Stepping through the wall was two ponies, the first looked at me with disgust as he scanned me. His coat was a light orange and his mane a short cut blond. His horn was alight with a white glow until it cut out for a moment causing the wall shimmer to end, before the tip of his horn shone a brilliant white light and illuminated the room.

“He looks nothing at all like you claimed.” The pony suddenly spoke in a gravelly voice.

The second pony stepped aside into the light, and I recognized him immediately as not only the one who attacked me… but also the drunken pony from last night who rented a room right next to us. I could feel my anger beginning to boil over quickly just at the sight of him.

“Misty was there too… ask her!” The olive pony fired back, getting an angry snort from the unicorn. “I woke her up before I jumped him, she must have seen-” He began to explain as I slowly shifted in place, before lurching towards him with outstretched hands.

The unicorn saw me move and, with a flash of his horn, halted my advance in an instant.

My body lurched in place, the feeling of gravity crushing down on me from every direction as he forced me down into a bowing position. I couldn’t move, speak, or even breath as he held me in his telekinetic grip.

“You’ll stay put, or I’ll start breaking your bones next.” He warned as he stared me down with an intense glare.

A moment later he cut off his magic, my whole body slacking in place. I let out a gasp for breath and righted myself back into a seated position, spying a glance towards my cell mate as I pushed myself back against the wall. He almost unnoticeably shook his head as he met my eyes before looking back to the unicorn.

This was my first time experiencing the power of this world’s magic users, in a way other than just hurling projectiles at me. Without my Runeblade I couldn’t call on my own abilities… I had virtually no way of dealing with this guy.

“He changed!” The second pony admitted desperately as the unicorn stared him down angrily. “He must’ve! He looked like a bucking wolf, I’m telling you!” He pleaded to the unicorn as he shook his head.

The orange pony sighed, before turning to him and prodding him in the chest. “You were at Tusk’s drinking again, weren’t ya? I can smell it’s stink on you. I told you to stop doing that, you’re gonna get us found out!” He yelled out as he smacked the pony on the side of the head and pointed to the cracked wall. “Get back to the entrance, guard it like you’re supposed to and don’t beat up the next tourist that goes by!” He yelled, a bit of spittle leaving his mouth as the wall let out a shimmer. “And next time, be to your shift ON TIME!” He commanded to the olive colored earth pony, electing a fearful nod from him as he hurriedly scurried out of the cell.

The unicorn grunted, looking at me once more before taking his leave.

The moment he left I stood and crossed the room, the dizziness making it a bit hard to walk straight as I tumbled slightly into the solid stone wall he’d walked through just a moment prior. Resting my palms on it I leaned in closer and peered through the small crack. I could see him for just a moment longer before he disappeared into the darkness.

I continued looking through the small opening until the sound of shuffling reminded me that I wasn’t the only occupant of this cell. Turning to look at the pony in question, he motioned me over frantically.

“Let me take a look at your wound, they don’t like it when we stand that close to the exit.”

I stared at him, before looking away and walking towards the wall I woke up next to. Slipping my cloak off my shoulders and ripping it into strips, I wrapped them around my head and grimaced as I pulled the knot tight.

“So… you’re from outside?” He asked, glancing towards the cracked wall.

“Where the fuck am I exactly?” I asked again.

Rubbing his throat, he shifted his seating a bit. “Well, right now you’re somewhere beneath the Hearthstone mountain. We’ve been trapped down here for… well I’m not really sure how long anymore.” He finished with a shrug.

“Trapped? You’re part of the eight miners who died here three years ago?” I asked, getting his eyes to widen a bit before he slouched slightly.

“Three years? Buck… has it really been that long?” He asked as I shook my head in confusion.

“How the hell have you all survived for three years down here?” I asked, electing a motion of his hoof towards the wall.

“They bring us food sometimes, work us to the bone for it though… and theres only four of us left.” He looked to the floor as he paused, taking a deep breath and sighing. “Three of us died in the collapse… another one of us died not long ago.”

I listened to his words as I sat there on the cold stone floor, before I closed my eyes and tried to feel for my Runeblade’s presence. It was faint, but I could feel it somewhere nearby.

“Who all is still alive down here?” I questioned.

Before he could answer the sound of heavy hoofsteps began approaching us from the other side of the wall. My cellmate quickly beckoned me to stay down, and I did just that.

“My name’s Patches, by the way.” He whispered, just before the wall began shimmering.

Stepping through it was the same Unicorn as before, his face stoic as he looked over us both, hovering over me for a bit longer before letting out a snort.

“Time to work. Get up.” He commanded as he stepped back through the wall.

The surface continued to ripple as Patches got up and made his way over to it. “You better do as he says, he stays true to his threats.” He added, before stepping through the shimmering wall.

I hesitated for a moment, before getting up and approaching the fluctuating surface. As I walked through the stone, It felt as if a cool liquid was rolling over my whole body, the feeling of pins and needles following it shortly after as I phased straight through the solid wall. The room I walked into wasn’t much different than the one I was in before, with the exception of a few key differences.

Even though it was still quite dark, the veins from the hearthstone were a bit thicker here and gave more ambient light than it did in the cells. There was also a tunnel nearby which seemed to descend towards a bright light source of some kind. The unicorn from before stood a few meters away from me as he watched me stumble out, before pointing down the aforementioned path.

“You’re falling behind from the others, pick up the pace.” He warned, getting a scowl from me as I stumbled past him.

I descended down the cave, listening to the heavy hoofsteps that followed not far behind. I felt more powerless now than I had in a long, long time… I’d no idea just how much I’ve come to rely on the powers bestowed to me by my Runeblade. As I descended, the faint sound of metal on stone began to reach my ears.

“Pick up the pace!” He suddenly shouted, giving me a hard shove.

I stumbled forward a bit before turning my head and glaring at him.

“Sorry, did that hurt your feelings?” He mocked as he gave me another push. “Move it!”

I marched on, suppressing my rage down as it threatened to bubble up and push me to do something I’d regret. I’d get my chance… I just had to play it smart. Eventually, I reached the bottom as the area lit up a brilliant orange. I stared up at the light source and for a moment I almost thought it was the sun itself. However, as my eyes adjusted I quickly noticed the glow was being produced from the ceiling stone, and not just any stone… but the Hearthstone itself.

The bottom half of the wonder jutted out from the ceiling, it’s light bouncing off the many crystals, gems and deposits of gold strewn around the interior. The cavern was huge, much like the one I visited with Zecora, and dotting the walls were many alcoves which sparkled with gems. It seemed quite a bit of the cavern was already picked clean, half of it containing only thin veins of hearthstone webbed across barren rock.

To the left of where I came in was a larger cave which steadily ascended up and out of sight. Piled high just next to it was a massive pile of ore, gems and other valuable metals. The sound I’d been hearing appeared to be a group of nearby ponies as they chipped away at the wall, another unicorn guard I hadn’t seen yet watching them nearby.

This one looked feminine, her mane a light shade of teal and braided tightly against her deep blue coat. She glanced my way for a moment, before returning her gaze forward.

“Grab a tool and join the others.” The orange unicorn commanded as he pointed towards the nearby wall.

A few tools were leaning on it, all in varying levels of poor condition. I grabbed a pickaxe and made my way over to the small group, a few of them turning to look at me and taking on looks of surprise. There were four total workers here, but only one of them I recognized, ‘Patches’.

Even though a few of them seemed perturbed by my presence, it did little to slow their work as they chipped at the gems. I just couldn’t believe they were holding the pickaxes with their teeth, I just gave a small shrug and situated myself next to the line of ponies. The ponies were lined up against the wall of an alcove which descended a good ways into the wall. Patches was situated at the end, further inside and almost completely out of sight from our unicorn captors.

Examining the pickaxe in my hand for a moment, I noted just how bad a condition it was in. I almost felt like I was going to break it in half when I swung it. Rearing my arm back, I swung it into the wall and watched as it glanced off harmlessly. I groaned a bit in annoyance before pulling it back and swinging even harder, with the same result.

I was an alchemist after all… extracting minerals wasn’t exactly my forte.

“Swing down.” The grey pony to my right whispered.

“Huh?”

“Thats how minotaurs do it, use your shoulders and-“ As he spoke a shout erupted from further back.

“No talking!” The orange unicorn commanded, stomping one of his hooves.

The pony next to me went silent and grasped his own pick again with his teeth, before glancing to me and motioning in front of him. He slowly swung down with the pick, before nodding to me. Looking down at the tool in my grasp, I took hold of it in both hands and in one motion swung the pick downwards.

It cracked into the stone, breaking a large chunk of minerals free and onto the ground. I was surprised how little I felt the impact, but assumed the tools must have had some kind of enchantment on them which explained the way ponies… grip them.

I continued to swing into the wall but took a moment to glance behind me and noticed our two captors having a heated discussion. The orange pony pointed towards the other end of the cavern, towards the larger tunnel next to the gem hoard, and elected a scowl from the blue pony as she marched out of the cavern.

That left just the one… but it didn’t matter if I handled him because the other pony was also a unicorn! I had to figure out where my gear was, it was my only shot of getting out of here. Maybe some of the ponies here know where it would be kept.

So for now… I guess I have to play the part of slave.

My muscles burned as I struck the wall for what felt like the millionth time, stopping to wipe the sweat from my brow before getting back into position for another swing. I had no idea how long I’d been doing this for, or how late it even was.

After a while, the orange pony had sat down at a desk situated by the gem hoard, and had been spending the last while shuffling through some documents. He’d still glance our way often to make sure we were still working diligently, and wouldn’t hesitate to shout at one of us if we weren’t.

As I worked, I noticed Patches would only swing once for every three of ours, and every now and then one of the nearby ponies would kick a few gems into his pile.

I caught onto what they were doing and, when our ‘warden’ wasn’t looking, would do the same. I wasn’t sure how he got caught up in this to begin with, he didn’t look like a miner when compared to the rest of them. He was much more frail looking, and tired out faster than any of us… even myself, and it felt like I had a splitting concussion so that was a feat of it’s own.

“That’s enough!” The orange unicorn commanded from where he was sitting, looking up from the pages on the table in front of him. “Eat. The caravan will be here soon.”

His horn glowed for a second as he pulled out a box from behind the desk. It was small, about half my height, and landed with a loud thud a few feet from us. The ponies quickly dropped their tools and went to the box, opening the top and pulling out all sorts of jarred fruits.

I put down my own pick and lumbered over to the group, reaching for one of the jars and examining it closely. Looked like a mix of peaches and pears. I shrugged and popped the lid off before fishing some out and chomping it down.

They definitely didn’t taste very satisfying, actually it barely tasted like fruit anymore. A few of the ponies mumbled to each other as they ate, casting occasional glances my way. Patches stood next to me as he tugged on my pant leg, getting my attention as I looked down at him.

“We can talk for a bit now, until we start work again.” He whispered, looking back to the unicorn who was still watching us, albeit splitting his attention with the documents in front of him. “Just… keep your voice down. Thunder tolerates it while we eat but it doesn’t mean he likes it.”

I moved over to the group of ponies sitting in a small semi circle and plopped myself down, letting my tired muscles relax for the first time in a while. Unlike normal death knights that could work for days on end without breaking a sweat, I still felt the buildup of fatigue… it really was quite unfair.

The three ponies ceased their mumblings as I sat down, until Patches seated next to me with a smile. Under the bright light of the Hearthstone I could finally see his features, along with the other ponies as well.

Patches sat on his haunches next to me as he fought with his own jar. His coat was light brown which matched his scraggly, albeit slightly darker, mane.

Two of the three ponies I didn’t know yet looked quite similar, both of them sporting a light grey coat with teal blue manes. Though while the one on the left had a much shorter mane, the other’s was long and covered almost half his face. They both had very sturdy looking builds.

The last pony’s was a stark contrast, his coat jet black and his mane dark purple, slicked back and out of the way. His fur turned to a darker grey towards the bottom of his legs around his hooves.

“Well I suppose theres no use bein’ all reserved. We’re in this together, after all.” The short haired grey pony stated. “My names Stone, and this here’s my brother, Rock.” He stated with a smile as he patted the similar looking pony with longer hair next to him.

I looked at Stone curiously, before shaking my head a bit. “Dalandor… and is that your full name?”

“That is a… strange name. Eh, no matter.” He said with a shrug. “And um, no, it is not… our full names are Gemstone and Rockbiter.” He stated with a proud smirk as I furrowed my brow.

“Why does everypony go by a nickname in this town?” I asked with a shake of my head.

Smiling, his fate lit up. “Ah… that is because Quartz Junction was not always a pony town, but was actually founded by minotaurs!” He exclaimed, before quickly covering his mouth and looking behind me.

I took a glance as well, and could see Thunder staring at us disapprovingly. Though he seemed far too invested in whatever he was reading as he quickly tore his gaze away. It would probably be best not to push his buttons any further.

Stone cleared his throat, before continuing at more of a whisper. “Like I said, this town was founded my minotaurs. Their names are much more… basic and ‘too the point’, know what I mean?” He asked, pausing as I gave a tentative nod. “So most ponies give themselves a nickname round’ here, it’s kind of a tradition I guess…”

I nodded, before flinching as Patches tugged the cloth surrounding my head. I grimaced and turned to him with a glare.

“I worked in the clinic, just let me take a look.” He asked as he went to grab the bandage again.

Lifting my hand I pushed his hoof down. “I’ve had worse.” I said flatly, getting an annoyed look back. “Listen, this isn’t gonna kill me. He just got lucky.” I stated as he let out a snort.

“Lucky, huh? You must be talking about Dozer. He’s a bit… dull, but he’s built like a workpony.” He said with a nod, pointing to my wound. “And by the looks of it, sure did a number on you.”

I shook my head and looked to the ground, setting my food down and crossing my arms.

“Not that I don’t enjoy this little meet and greet, but I’m not looking to be stuck here for the next three years.” I stated in a low voice as the ponies all gave me mixed looks. “When I arrived here they took something from me, it’s… crucial I recover it before I escape.”

The black pony, who until now had been completely silent, let out a snort as he shook his head. “Not even a day under his belt and already plotting an escape.”

“I just need my things, thats it. If I can get them back-“ I began, but was swiftly interrupted as he cut back in.

“You think if it was that easy we wouldn’t have done so already?” He fired back in a quiet yell, before sighing. “He’d rip you apart for even talking about it, so leave it there and don’t bring it up around us again.” He stated harshly as the other ponies all turned their gaze to the ground, staying silent.

“Caravan’s here!” Came a sudden shout behind us, Thunder finally standing from his desk.

All of the ponies around me ceased their eating and quickly moved over to the gem pile, so I followed suit. I lined up with them as they all stood next to the massive pile of valuables.

Glancing towards the path that blue Unicorn, ‘Misty’ I think they called her, had come down revealed a couple cloaked ponies as they hauled a carriage along the uneven rocky terrain. The pair pulled it up close to us, reversing the end towards the pile before unhinging themselves and relaxing nearby, stretching their presumably tired bodies.

“Okay, get that food off quick and start loading!” Thunder ordered, pointing to us then motioning to the carriage.

Patches took the lead as I stared at the back of the carriage. He stepped up onto the back step and flipped the latch off, before pulling the double doors open. Inside were a few rows of boxes which looked just like the one Thunder had brought out for us to eat from. This explains how they’ve been alive for so long down here…

It wasn’t long before the whole carriage was unloaded and the real work began. Little by little we shovelled gems into the carriage, piling it as high as it could go. I was pretty amazed with how little the suspension moved despite the absolute volume of valuables now stocked inside.

I almost fell into a sort of daze as I pushed my shovel into the gem pile, before tossing it into the carriage and repeating. Every now and then I would feel the intermittent gaze of Thunder as he watched us work. However, that’s when I felt something else. It was much the same but also very different. More than just a passing glance, but instead an intense stare.

I couldn’t help it, and let my eyes wander behind me as I worked. A shimmer of contrasting colors made me freeze as I stared back towards a sight I wasn’t expecting even in the least. Far on the other side of the cavern, hidden behind a large boulder and just barely peeking out was the last pony I expected to see here… but that color scheme was unmistakable.

My eyes bulged as I processed what I was seeing.

’Zecora!?’

Chapter 15: A Simple Job (Part 2)

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Chapter 15: A Simple Job (Part 2)

“You should get some rest.” Patches nagged from the ground behind me, our small stone cell not offering much in terms of sleeping arrangements. “Tomorrow won’t be any better I'm afraid.”

I didn’t answer him and instead kept my eyes fixed on the crack just a few inches ahead of me. I sat cross legged and completely still, peering through the crevice and into the darkness on the other side. After a few seconds of silence Patches let out a defeated sigh and lay his head down onto the cold stone floor.

I stayed locked onto the inky blackness, waiting for even the slightest hint of movement.

I was sure of it, any second now… Zecora would appear from the shadows and I’d have my chance to escape.

Though I had to admit, the longer I waited the more my confidence wavered. Ten minutes became twenty, then an hour… and before long I’d completely lost track of time. The only sound which broke through the thick silence was the steady drip of water and occasional snore of my cellmate.

’Perhaps I’d somehow… imagined her?’

The possibility had occurred to me, that maybe it was just some trick of the hearthstone light and my worsening migraine.

I banished the thought with a shake of my head, electing a twinge of hot pain down my neck. I had to have confidence in what I saw, just as I had to have confidence in her, too. Zecora, if anything, was a very clever and determined mare. She’d taken most of my lessons in stride, even requesting to look through what few books I had in my possession the instant she managed to grasp written Common on her own.

I felt a sudden wave of tiredness as my vision drooped slightly. I groaned and rubbed my face, trying to push the small tinge of fatigue down before it’s grip on my mind worsened. Though it wasn’t much use, the fresh wound and recent laborious work having drained most of my stamina.

“Dal…?” The barely audible whisper suddenly cleaved through the silence and caused my breath to hitch.

I sat silent, unsure if what I heard was even real as I peered into the darkness... the sound of dripping water and my beating heart suddenly much louder than before.

“Oof!” A pebble suddenly rattled through the small cavern as Zecora collapsed into a heap onto the floor outside my cell, landing in a small puddle of mud that had accumulated under a dripping section of the cave.

I blinked in surprise as I shifted my seating, getting as close as I could to the crack and taking in as much of the scene as I could. Patches murmured something and began shuffling in place nearby.

“Mmm… hm? What…?” He groggily looked around the cell as I ignored him and pulled closer to the wall.

“Zecora!” I spoke in a harsh whisper through the crack.

Zecora’s ear flicked for a moment as she instantly spun around to face me “…Dal? Are you… how did you get in there?” She spoke in an anxious whisper while scanning the wall, trying to find where I had spoken from.

I pat the stone by the crack, getting her attention as she maneuvered over to look at me through the small fissure.

“Long story… listen, you can’t open the cell without magic-” I began, before patches interrupted from behind.

“Dalandor? Who-“ He started, but fell silent as I rudely shushed him with a swift motion.

“How’d you even get in here? They’ve got a guard posted at the entrance.” I asked, trying to peek around her figure and into the dark cavern beyond with no success.

“Invisibility potion, followed the caravan in… but I only have one more.” She replied nervously, flipping open her saddlebag and pulling out a single purple vial.

I shook my head and felt a small smile creep onto my features. An invisibility potion… brilliant! She’s already made such tremendous progress! I pushed down the small swell of pride I felt, for now, and focused on the task at hand.

“Zecora… they have my things. I don’t…” I paused, and sighed quickly before continuing. “I don’t care about the axe, but you must retrieve the pouch. Do you understand?” I asked as Zecora squinted a bit, processing my words. “Find it and bring it to me and I’ll handle the rest. Without it… I’m nothing.”

She went to speak, before the sound of hooves suddenly shuddered through the cavern behind her.

“They heard us. The potion, take it!” I whispered harshly, electing a quick nod from her.

“I… can’t make any more of these.” She stated nervously, pulling the cork out with her teeth and locking eyes with me through it’s blue fumes. “Get the pouch and that’s it, right?” She asked nervously, bringing the potion to her lips.

Her face just barely illuminated by the potion’s glow showed only one emotion, worry. I felt a slight twinge in my chest, the face wringing a familiar memory from my past.

“You’ll have to wait until they let us out, tomorrow, for work.” I explained, looking back towards Patches who watched me with a bewildered expression. “Listen, If you can’t find it… just leave, ok? I’ll find another way.”

“But-“ Zecora began to argue, until an orange glow began to illuminate the cave behind her.

“No time!” I whispered harshly, electing a worried glance from her one last time just before she threw the vial back.

With the barely audible sound of wind gusting through the cavern, she vanished from sight as Patches shoved me to the side.

“The door by the loot hoard! Check-“ He added, before going dead silent as an orange light pierced through the fissure.

I had to squint my eyes as the glow blinded me for a moment. I scooted back a bit as a streak of orange slowly crawled across the ground, Thunder’s hoof steps echoing just outside the wall.

He finally stopped outside the cell as everything fell quiet. There was a long silence as I leaned against the cold stone wall, until eventually the steps retreated away and brought the light with it. My eyes flicked over to Patches and saw him wordlessly scanning me from his spot on the floor, a look of misbelief covering his features.

“You weren’t kidding,” He began with a shake of his head. “You really are gonna break out.”

Even in the near darkness, I could see the swell of hope filling his features from across the cell.

He scooted forwards slightly. “How’s Herb?” He asked, before folding his ears down. “N-Nevermind… sorry, you probably don’t even know who I’m talking about.” He added as I waved my hand.

“Nah I know him. Had a small stick up his ass, but didn’t seem like a bad pony.” I said with a shrug, before pointing at him. “Brother?”

“Cousin.” He corrected, getting a nod from me. “I actually moved here because of him, believe it or not. Was always telling me to give up my job at the hospital back home…” He trailed off as I shuffled a bit in place.

“Where did you live before here?” I asked, getting him to pause and re-adjust his cracked glasses.

“Ahem, Manehatten. I’m- well… I WAS one of their top Doctors.” His features glowing with momentary pride before fading into regret. “But… all that seems so far away now.”

“A Doctor, huh…?” There was a short silence, before I shifted my seating a bit. “Well done, not many where I come from pursue such a profession. Noble ambition, working to heal others with nothing but your bare hands- er… hooves.“

He gave me a strange look which got me to break my own stare and look at the cell wall.

“Hands, huh? So that’s what you call them.” I sighed and crossed my arms, concealing the appendages from sight. “Come now, the others may be too dim to see it but give me a little credit. You’re obviously no minotaur, nor anything else I can think of.” He concluded, looking my way like he was expecting me to fill in the details.

“…” I continued to sit in silence, ignoring his words.

He was either oblivious to my interest in the conversation or thought his incessant stare would squeeze something from me.

“You’re not from around here, not in the slightest. Your skin’s cold as ice, are you cold blooded perhaps? And what about-“

“Patches.” I stated suddenly, turning to meet his eyes. “For your own sake, I’d suggest you to stop taking notes about me.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but relented at my hard gaze and slowly sunk back into his place on the ground.

He was quiet for a while, and at first I thought he’d fallen asleep.

“Hey.” He whispered.

“…what.” I replied plainly.

There was a hesitation in his voice as he shuffled a bit in place. “What’s the plan? For tomorrow, I mean.”

I thought about it for a minute, then sighed. “At lunch, you’ll have to tell everyone.” I began, turning my head to look at his reaction... unsure.

"The brothers maybe but...” He began, but hesitated with a shake of his head. “I-I don't think Flint will-"

“They’ll believe you, Patches.” I assured as his brow furrowed in thought.

Nodding slowly, he went to speak before I cut back in. “Just tell them I’ll handle it after Zecora gets my satchel, and to not get themselves in the way. Alright?”

“…okay.”

Nothing else was said, and all that was left to do is wait.

Though, one thing did suddenly occur to me... the identity of a certain black pegasus.

Flint...

If it’s who I think it is, I had to find a way make this work… no matter what. Maybe I really could set things right for that kid after all.

Even if it meant using that damned sword.

Perspective: Zecora

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been laying here, tucked behind a rock half my height as I pressed my body into the cold stone floor. The potion had worn off hours ago… so here I sat, observing the on goings inside the cavern. Dried mud covered my contrasting coat, bringing it all to the same dull brown hue.

When I’d entered this cavern, my eyes were glued to the first thing I noticed, the massive gem pile. This time, however, I was much more interested in the door which sat just next to it… nestled into the stone wall to the right of the glimmering mountain.

‘The door by the loot hoard…’ The words echoed to the forefront of my mind.

I wasn’t sure who’s voice it was, but they wouldn’t have risked telling me something like that if it wasn’t important. I wanted so badly to just go retrieve Dalandor’s pouch and be done with this place, if not for one problem…

“I’d wager you’re lyin’.” The gruff voice of the orange unicorn, who I quickly learned was named Thunder, said from his chair at the round table.

He sat with a few other ponies, a blue unicorn named Misty and an olive pony named Dozer, as they played some kind of card game. The table sat not too far from the pile of gold, and far too close to the door.

“Ahhh… damn you Thunder.” Misty groaned as she huffed and slouched back in her chair. “Alright, I think I’m done.” She finished with a sigh.

“Me too. At this rate I’ll lose my life savings to this guy.” Dozer exclaimed as he too stretched in place, before hopping down.

Thunder pulled all his winnings towards himself, and even from here I could see his toothy grin.

“Alright, see you both tomorrow. Don’t forget, we start even earlier. Have to make up for lost time after our recent… guest incident. Misty, you’re back on watch.” Thunder said with a gesture towards the cave exit.

The blue unicorn quickly galloped off, the olive earth pony following closely behind.

“Dozer, wait.” Thunder spoke up, getting the pony to skid to a halt. “Going to the Inn again? Celestia help me if you lead another stupid patron to our dig site-”

The other pony groaned in reply. “Knocked the guy out, didn’t I?” Thunder snorted in annoyance, getting Dozer to shake his head. “He was alone, we don’t have to tell the boss anything!”

“If the boss knew who you were buying drinks from, all our heads would roll!” Thunder accused back.

Shaking his head, dozer waved his right hoof. “It’s the only bar in town! Come on!”

There was a short silence as Thunder stared him down, before waving him away. “Just go. Get some rest, but skip the liquor this time, yeah?”

Dozer grumbled in reply before running off. I could hear Thunder mumbling something to himself too, but I couldn’t make out specifics.

I just had to wait until this guy leaves, then I would make my move… the sooner the better.

Apparently my luck was getting worse before it was getting better, because instead of following the other two ponies out of the cave… he yawned and made his way towards the door.

I groaned silently to myself as he pulled it open, giving me barely a moment’s glance into the dark interior before it slammed shut.

Well, that complicates things.

The wait was an agonizingly long one. My joints ached as I shuffled a bit in place, laying in the same spot for so long starting to take it’s toll on me. I’d waited as long as I could but I couldn’t stand it anymore. The deafening silence was so great, I swear I could hear a low hum coming from the giant Hearthstone.

I couldn’t just hide here forever, eventually I had to make a move.

I eased my way out from behind the stone and locked onto the rickety looking door.

‘He should be asleep by now so no more waiting… come on Zecora!’

Despite the attempt to bloat my confidence, I found myself unable to budge from behind my cover. I was getting cold hooves as all the possibilities of what could happen if I was caught ran through my mind. Shaking my head I swallowed hard, my mouth dry as I tried to push down my rising worry.

Inching out with one hoof at a time, I slowly pulled myself out from behind the boulder.

My heart beat in my throat, and I swear I held my breath the whole time. What took only seconds felt like minutes as I slowly crossed the empty room. Every sound caught my attention as my ears swiveled like mad, listening for anything which could signal needing to hide. As I reached the door my worry didn’t quell as I realized there’s only one way left to go. With a quick glance around, I bent down and tried to peer through anything I could. It was no good however, as the door was seemingly flush with the stone around it… like it had been carved with magic.

I took a look at the massive pile of jewels beside me and noticed what looked like a large, flat piece of wood pressed against the sparkling mound. It looked like a makeshift effort to keep the pile from spilling towards the doorway. Every now and then it would let out a barely audible creak, filling my head with thoughts of being squished by many of tons of gems.

Banishing the thoughts from my mind, I focused on the door just ahead as I lay my hoof on the handle. The door swung outward silently on it’s hinges, slowly revealing the nearly pitch black interior. I crept into the dark and narrow corridor and slowly closed it behind me.

Sure enough, the door was flush with the stone and plunged the cave into complete darkness… not a single drop of light from the hearthstone penetrating the doorway.

I waited, and waited… until my vision finally adjusted to the darkness. I could just barely make out the corridor ahead, that… and a subtle red glow from my saddlebag. I flipped the side pouch open and my eyes locked onto the glowing crimson vial. It was a healing potion, and the first potion I ever made.

I gently pulled it out from my saddlebag and held it in my teeth, it’s red light illuminating the corridor ahead just enough to walk. I crept forward quietly, following the narrow passage carefully as I watched the ground for any uneven spots.

A sudden noise ripped through the cavern, causing me to nearly drop the potion as I tried to calm my rapidly beating heart. I stood completely still, listening for whatever that was as I scanned the darkness.

Suddenly, the noise rippled by again!

…

’Snoring…’ I realized, a wave of relief washing over me.

With a small sigh I continued forward as the corridor quickly changed into a small room. As I entered, the glow from the healing potion could barely reach the ends of the room, leaving small dark spots in the corners and making the room appear much larger than it was.

However, my attention was firmly planted on the source of the snoring… Thunder, who was slumbering peacefully on a small cot next to a desk.

The rest of the room was a very bare, seemingly perfectly cut square. I crept over towards the desk, before a glint on the wall nearby drew my attention.

Dalandor’s axe hung on the wall, a bit of blood still present on it’s edge from his last ‘encounter’. For a split second, the memory of when he struck that griffon with the axe flashed to the forefront of my thoughts and I felt a cold shudder coarse through me.

It would be difficult to sneak it out of here… it was too large and unbalanced for a pony to hold. But he insisted he didn’t need it, only the pouch.

I pried my gaze from the weapon and scanned the nearby desk, looking for the familiar little bag. But it was nowhere to be seen, the only things present being random documents talking about mineral types.

Sparing a small glance at Thunder, I slowly pulled one of the two drawers open, revealing some more documents and a few letters. Pushing the letters aside, I looked for the small pouch to no avail. Furrowing my brow, I turned to the last unopened drawer.

As I pulled, the drawer let out a shrill squeak. My ears instinctively folded down as my heart skipped a beat, the sleeping unicorn nearby suddenly moving in place.

I watched him with dread as he grumbled a bit to himself, before quickly falling back into his steady rhythm of snores.

I let out a silent sigh of relief, before glancing down into the now open drawer as my hopes soared. There, sitting at the bottom, was the all too familiar bottomless pouch. Whether he was aware of just how extraordinary it was I wasn’t sure, but I was sure he would probably notice this open drawer tomorrow…

It couldn’t be helped, I didn’t want to risk waking him up again. I elected for gently placing the potion on the desk, careful to not let it roll off, before retrieving the pouch in my mouth. Lifting it from the inside of the drawer, I stuffed it hurriedly into my saddlebag before retrieving the potion on the desk.

I could feel my body shaking with adrenaline as I cautiously made my way back to the entrance, back to my hiding spot.

Time to enjoy another few hours behind a rock.

Perspective: Dalandor

The night was a long and restless one as I stared towards the cracked stone wall from my position on the floor. Thoughts raced through my mind as I tried to come up with some kind of plan, but everything came back to that wretched Unicorn.

Their magic was a whole different kind than I was used to. I’d suspected as much after observing Celestia and Twilight, but after actually feeling the force it can exert in combat… it really was like trying to fight a brick wall.

Then there was Zecora. I just had to hope she didn’t get caught.

Patches rolled over in his spot nearby, catching my attention for a moment as I glanced at his sleeping form. He actually went to sleep with a smile on his face, probably the first time in a while.

The atmosphere rapidly changed when the quickened sound of hooves approaching the cell broke the silence. For a split moment, I thought it might have been Zecora considering the pace. However I stashed that thought away as a familiar orange glow peered out from the cracked stone.

I quickly shook patches, startling him awake and, upon seeing the light, quickly sat up just as the wall began to shimmer.

Thunder stepped through quickly, motioning us to follow him.

His demeanour seemed… different, somehow. He marched behind us as we descended the narrow passage, but constantly pushed us along from behind like we weren’t moving fast enough. But in not-Thunder like fashion, there was no verbal threats or angry comments of the like. Just silence.

Something else is on his mind… and my gut was telling me it wasn’t good.

Even after adjusting to the orange glow from Thunder, the light of the hearthstone still momentarily blinded me. As I rubbed my eyes and regained my vision, I could sense a familiar chill nearby.

My Runeblade, it was getting closer.

Another push from Thunder jarred me from my thoughts as he ushered us towards our familiar mining group. I glanced to my side and took in the sad form of Patches. If there was any indication of his hope last night, its now far buried under this depressing façade.

We were starting on a new opening in the wall, the others already lined up and hacking at the glittering surface. I took one last glance around the cavern, trying to spot Zecora hiding anywhere amongst the scattered boulders. With no luck, I relented and got into a swinging rhythm.

It wasn’t even a few minutes after we’d begun that a sudden commotion roared up behind us. It must have been quite the rare occurrence, because even Flint stopped swinging with a look of curiosity on his face. All at once we stopped swinging at the wall and looked back to see Thunder yelling at Misty.

“It was either him or you, Misty!” Thunder accused while pointing a hoof at the pony, barely an inch from her chest. “I know I put it there, and the drawer was wide open this morning!”

“Thunder, I already told you he hasn’t come back yet, I was on watch all night!” Misty said back in a heightened, but not quite screaming voice. “I’m not stupid enough to take anything from you, not after all this time and not something as worthless as that!” There was a short pause, before she spoke up again. “Maybe you just forgot where you put it.”

There was a long stretch of silence, until Thunder snorted and looked away, directly towards us. “Did I say stop?!” He shouted at us with a lit horn.

We all swung around in a hurry and got back to work, double time. There was a few more words said, but I couldn’t focus my hearing well enough over the sound of the pickaxes. Though, as the minutes went on I noticed a change in one of his behaviors… his eyes.

They were glued on me from behind, unmoving.

Usually he’d always alternate between us, but now he was unquestionably fixated on me. This was going to make things much harder.

This went on for a while, a long while. We’d moved a few feet into the cavity in the wall when his focus finally released from me as he, to my surprise, suddenly walked past us. It made me hesitate for a moment with my swing, as I wasn’t expecting he had been coming towards me.

That was the only problem with my ‘sense’, it couldn’t tell me from how far I was being watched. I quickly composed myself and continued swinging, but stole some glances at Thunder, curious as to what he was doing.

My heart sank as I knew immediately. He was examining the room.

'Nonono... it's too soon!'

My adrenaline spiked and I turned to Patches. It took him a couple swings until he looked my way and noticed my expression. His features filled with dread as he glanced at the passing orange pony. Bending down to Flint-hoof next to him, he hurriedly whispered electing the black pegasus to finish one last swing before slicking his mane back with one hoof.

I spun back towards where Thunder was, and my heart sank as I saw him reaching the far end of the room and his vision lock onto something I couldn't see.

"What the-" He stopped and stumbled back as Zecora appeared from behind a nearby boulder, striking his horn hard with a rock, shocking the Unicorn for a moment as she turned to me.

"Dal!" She screamed and launched the pouch as far as she could with her right hoof, the item spinning through the air rapidly before hitting the ground.

In the moment the pouch landed, three things happened.

The pouch's binding came undone, spilling much of the contents of books, my sword and gold coins indiscriminately across the stone floor.

Zecora became enveloped in Thunder's magic and screamed.

And I, crouching down and already dripping in mist, shifted forms and leapt... just coming within range of my sword that had tumbled free of it's wrappings.

It's whispers and promises of power filled my senses, but before I could even touch the ground to pick it up I stopped midair in a glow.

Thunder's titanic grip held me in place, attempting to crush all the air from my lungs as it squeezed unrelentingly.

Thunder took a moment to process what he was looking at, flicking his vision between the pained zebra and myself with a look of bewilderment, then realization as he took in my visage.

"Misty!" He shouted, a strained look showing on his face.

Something was different this time. Other than the fact he was holding both Zecora and I, it was something else. My new strength, my unstoppable thirst worming it's way back into my being as the sword whispered encouragement into my ear.

I pushed against the magic binding me, my eyes igniting in a misty blue flame as his magic relented for a moment and shuddered, causing me to shift in place.

The mood shifted as everything went silent, Thunder's expression contorting in effort as he clenched his teeth.

Suddenly a yell roared from behind as both Rock and Stone come out with a large... rock and stone, and launched them towards the unicorn. He reeled back as his horn shone twice as bright, catching the two miniature boulders midair, causing his magic on me to shudder once again as I moved a few feet further and landed on the ground.

He held me there mid stride as he dropped the two boulders from his grasp, panting, before blocking another pair launched in unison from the two ponies now acting like miniature catapults. As Thunder intercepts the stones he gets pelted on the side of his head by a smaller rock, thrown by Flint as he zipped around in the air, avoiding being grabbed by rapidly zigzagging.

His magic started to flicker constantly now, as I moved in spontaneous intervals towards him. Fear swelled in his face as he locked eyes with me.

As I passed my Runeblade, I cast the ability I'd been pondering on since being trapped down here. I felt the spell materialize around me, a green glow protruding from my body as the small barrier of runes encased me.

He tried to apply his magic back onto me, and for the single second it took him to notice it wasn't working, I'd already crossed the distance and pounced him head on.

My claws dug into his chest as I knocked him onto his back, holding him down by the neck as I stared down at his surprised face.

He looked back up at me, frantically flickering his horn for a moment before finally realizing there was nothing left to save him.

A second of silence went by, the fear swelling in his face as he inhaled sharply.

"NO-"

I lunged.

From the moment the blood let loose, I went blind. I ripped and tore anything that I could as I went deaf to all other sounds. My wounds regenerated, my headache vanished. I felt like I was, for a moment, alive.

"Dal..." A voice broke through the sound, and I turned towards it.

Everything suddenly flooded back at once. The light of the cave, the looks of the ponies, the blood dripping down my chest.

I swallowed, my throat dry as the sickly taste of blood trickled down causing me to cough. Zecora was looking at me with terrified eyes as she clutched her right hoof. Turning to my victim, I looked at the body that was once Thunder, almost every discernable feature having been... scattered.

I only looked at him for a second, but it was enough for the image to burn into my retinas. Tearing my eyes away I locked onto two other figures coming down the cavern’s exit, Misty and Dozer. The two were talking to each other with a smile, until finally Dozer glanced towards us.

His expression dropped as he suddenly stopped, his unicorn partner looking back at him in confusion. I didn’t waste a second as I spun around and bound towards them as fast as I could, down on all fours and dodging the large rocks along the way. I grabbed my sword with my left hand as I went, before leaping towards the two as Misty finally turned to see what Dozer was looking at.

I raised my sword, intent on cleaving her in half first.

Dozer knocked her out of the way, charging into her side and sending them both tumbling over. Dozer recovered quickly, and tried to jump me like he did last time. I gave him nothing to grab as I quickly skittered back, before lunging forward and swiping him with my sword. This time my attack was rewarded with a howl of pain.

The tip of my sword just barely caught his face, tearing upwards through his right eye and drenching his features in blood.

He screamed in agony as the enchanted steel ripped through his flesh, like thousands of freezing needles let loose into his skin. As he fell backwards, I reached out and grabbed his forehoof. With a small yell I twist my body, my muscles burning as I heaved him upwards in an overhead throw.

As he moved through the air he hit the Hearthstone face first, applying a generous splash of red to a small surface of it's body. A portion of the cavern instantly plunged into a reddish hue as Dozer landed onto the nearby gold pile, tumbling down it like a ragdoll.

I turned my attention to Misty, who was collapsed nearby and too frightened to move. Her eyes were locked onto me, her frame shrunken to the ground and shivering. With a flick of my wrist, I summoned some chains of ice. They exploded out of the stone around her in an instant, contorting around her and stinging her skin with metal so cold it burned.

She screamed in surprise and pain as it attempted to reel her downwards and sap her energy.

Turning back to my other target, I saw that he was, to my surprise, still moving. Just next to the loot pile he was attempting to compose himself as he lay half collapsed and covered in blood. Dozer shook his head multiple times as he tried to clear his vision and look in my direction.

With the unicorn incapacitated, I decided to prioritize the one who’d put me here to begin with.

With a single leap I bound towards him, and I could see the surprise on his face as I barreled his way. He fell onto his side as he tried to recover and I pounced, knocking him onto his back as I stared down at his face with barred teeth.

We were right next to the loot pile now, the sound of a creaking board filling my hearing as my eyes flicked to the left out of reaction. That's when Dozer sent his right hoof out and hit the board hard, creating a crack in it that spread almost instantly. With my reflexes I had no problem reacting and jumped back off the pony to avoid the imminent disaster as the board snapped in half, all of the gems and gold spilling over and infront of the nearby door.

Dozer however, was not so fortunate.

He scrambled to move as it happened, and just barely managed to recover and inch forward… however almost the entirety of both his hind legs were quickly swallowed up under the crushing valuables. He howled in pain as he lay, half crushed by the loot pile as it covered the door behind him as well.

Swearing to myself internally, I turned my vision back to the pony below me as he frantically looked for something, anything, that could help him. But his determination had long since changed to panic as his one good eye looked around, before finally looking up in reluctance to meet my gaze.

Staring into his one good eye, I could see the realization of whats coming finally hit him as I slowly turned my sword over and gripped it in both hands. I situated it over him as he scrambled under me, and I let out a breath before plunging it downwards.

“No!” A voice shouted from nearby, causing me to stop and glance.

Misty watched in horror from where I left her, the chains worn off ages ago but having left their marks printed along her coat.

“Please, we surrender… just-“ Collapsing in place, she begged me to spare him as she looked at me pleadingly. “D-don’t kill him, please.”

I dropped my two handed grip and held it with my right hand, bringing it’s tip up to Dozer's neck and electing a pained yell from him.

“I was planning on killing all three of you.” I stated, looking her way as I twist my blade in place and elected more pained groans from Dozer. “But you just reminded me, it’s information I came for.”

She quickly nodded, waving with her hoof. “Y-yeah! I’ll tell you w-whatever, I don’t care about-“

I silenced her with a raise of my paw, “No,” before contorting my hand into a grabbing gesture. “It’s not for me.”

My hand filled with a spiraling purple energy and seized the unicorn in place, before rapidly ripping her towards me in a straight line. As she made it to me I grabbed her by the side of the head and knocked her out on the gold pile as she collapsed in place next to her friend.

“No! Y-you damned mutt!” Dozer yelled as he frantically trashed below. “When I get out of here I’m gonna-“

“Hush now.” I said as I delivered a swift thwack of my sword hilt onto the top of his head.

They both were out like a light. I looked down at them for a moment, before nodding to myself and putting my sword on my back in it's 'sheath'. Really, rune-weapons will stay wherever you put them. They're an extension of yourself, after all.

I took in a breath, and let out a silent huff, before brushing my hair back with one paw. That's when I realized I was still in my worgen form. Slowly, I turned around to meet the mixed looks of everyone else left in the cavern. The two grey brothers watched me from where I'd previously been working, staring at me with varying levels of apprehension.

Flint hovered just under the Hearthstone, about seven feet in the air, his eyes locked on me in caution as his body remained tense.

And Zecora, still partially hidden behind her boulder regarding me with her absolute attention.

The last few minutes had finally released much of my pent up anger, and specifically with Thunder, healed me in the process. My anger having nearly entirely dissipated, I let out a slow breath from my nose as my form shrank back down to a human once more.

Shaking his head, Flint waved his arms infront of himself as he lowered down. "Nu-uh, what in Celestia's name was THAT!" He exclaimed, situating himself between me and the rest of the ponies as Patches peeked out from inside the cave. "What in Tartarus are you anyway? Some kind of cursed minotaur? A monster?" He added, backing up with his wings flared.

Blinking a few times, I looked between the accusing pony and Zecora watching me from afar as I slowly opened my mouth to speak.

However, Patches beat me to it. "Forget it." He cut in, stepping out from inside the small cave. "It's not important."

Flint looked about to argue, before the two grey brothers came up behind him and pat him on the back as they passed.

"Patches said forget it, mate. So forget it." The long haired grey pony 'Rock' said, speaking for the first time since I arrived here.

Somehow, the two brothers accents were completely different...

I saw Patches give me a quick look before calling out to the others. "Grab your things quick. We're getting out of here."

"Bout' time, can't wait to smell that surface air." Said the shorter haired grey pony, 'Stone', as he moved towards another section of the cave and knelt down, pushing up a rock that unearthed a tiny hole.

That's when I realized everyone was doing the same. Patches, Flint-hoof, both brothers... they all had hiding spots where they were keeping something away from Thunder.

Patches' looked like it was an old medical watch. Seemed like a useless thing to keep hidden at first, until I realized it was probably their only reference for the time of day down here.

Rock and Stone both shared the same rock, actually. And they were hiding a... rock. A small red rock, that seemed to glint off the Hearthstone light from the moment it was unearthed.

And Flint, who was brushing dirt off a picture of a familiar little Pegasus.

I ignored them all and sprinted over to where Zecora was laying, running past my spewed items and books scattered among the cavern floor. Skidding to a stop, I placed my hand on the stone to balance myself as I looked around it to find her sitting there fiddling with something.

"Zecora are you-" I started, making her jump a bit and almost drop the red potion in her teeth.

She looked at me for a few seconds, before sighing and spitting the potion out into her left hoof. "Lend me a hand?" She asked, presenting the small red potion to me.

Looking down at it, I gave a single chuckle as I swiped the potion from her grasp and moved to open it before stopping.

"Better not use this one. I think you'll need at least a regular healing potion this time." I set the potion down onto the floor infront of her, taking one last glance to her right hoof as she nursed it under her body.

It was bent completely the wrong way.

I felt a pang of anger shoot through me as suddenly the memory of what I did to Thunder didn't weigh so heavily on me anymore.

Moving swiftly over to where a lot of my items had spilled out, I picked up my pouch and slung it to my waist. Looking around quickly, I found the item I was searching for in the shape of my vial heater. Picking it up, I rummaged through the now incredibly disorganized pouch's interior until I found all the necessary ingredients.

Zecora had moved away, or rather limped, to a new section of the cavern away from Thunder's body. Sitting down next to her, I set up the vial and got to work showing her what to do.

"So Briarthorn can be a bit tricky to work with... you have to clip off the thorns and just use those." I added as I broke off the thorns with my fingers. "And don't use the stem of Bruiseweed, just the leaves." I finished, adding all the herbs into the vial and giving it a good press with a cork.

A small red pop of mist happened inside the bottle as I swirled it and the liquid glowed a soothing crimson.

Quickly pulling the cork off the bottle, I slowly held it over for her to take. As she did, I looked away from her.

"Zecora... listen." Sighing, I leaned back as I sat, using my arms behind me as leverage. "This was selfish of me." I stated, turning to look at her as she held the potion in her hoof.

She was watching me quietly, a look of surprise in her eyes as she went to open her mouth.

"And before you say something along the lines of 'I had a duty to repay you or whatever', that doesn't excuse it. I shouldn't of come here on my own without telling you, especially so unprepared. I should have known you'd come here looking." Pausing, I took in a breath and sighed. "This should have been the quest that finally killed me, I think."

I stayed silent for a while, looking away from her, until she finally broke it by speaking up.

"Dal, why don't you fear death?" She asked, getting me to turn back and look at her. "This whole thing sounds like you're more upset I could have died, rather than you being sorry for almost dying yourself."

"Because it's true." I said with a nod, getting her to look at me strangely.

Sighing, I leaned forward and looked around the room at the ponies talking excitedly to each other.

"Tonight, I'll tell you everything. Okay?" Waiting a moment, I turned to her and saw her wide eyes looking at me. "We have to be honest, right? No more secrets."

She blinked once, scanning my face as if looking for some other form of deception. Turning away from her, I stood up and stretched, before looking around at all the scattered items and groaning.

"Zecora... when you're done there could you help me with something..."

A small time later and I was now angrily looking down into my disorganized heap of a blackhole device on my hip. Something I'd have to sort out later as I pulled the string shut tight and pushed the thought from my mind. My sword had long since been wrapped back up and put into the pouch, away from prying eyes.

Turning to Zecora as she tightened the strap on her saddlebag, I cleared my throat.

"Did you end up finding my axe?" I asked, getting a quick nod from the zebra as she pointed to the... now half covered door in the wall.

There was no way we'd be able to dig the door out of all those gems any time soon.

"It was hanging up in there... sorry Dal." She replied sadly.

"...It's fine. I'll just ask Tusk to dig it out."

"You know Tusk?" A voice suddenly spoke up behind me as I turned towards it.

Flint-hoof looked like he was sizing me up with his eyes as he walked up to me. "Yeah, now that I look at you I can tell you're not a minotaur. Whatever, If Patches said to drop it I'll drop it. But you said you know Tusk?"

Nodding my head, I walked past him towards where those two ponies still lay unconscious. "He told me to come check the mountain out, he had no idea you guys were still alive."

"So it wasn't him..." He said low to himself. "Buck... so he really didn't screw us over."

I looked at him strangely as he sighed, before motioning behind himself towards the cavern. "When we broke into this place, it was like an instant celebration. Of course we were all working under Tusk at the time and I thought maybe someone got out and... told him what we found and-"

"Collapsed the cave on your heads." I finished.

"...yeah." He said with a nod. "But, if he didn't know what we found then who-"

"Not really my concern." I interrupted. "I was just here to find proof of something happening." I stated as I knelt down to the unconscious unicorn. "I think they'll give him what he needs. If you want more, inquire with Tusk."

Flint looked a little annoyed, but didn't say anything as he walked back to the group.

"We told you he'd never do something like that, greenwing." Spoke up the short haired pony, Stone, as he bumped him on the shoulder.

Turning my attention back down to the two, I noticed Dozer was starting to squirm a bit while Misty remained completely out. Giving another swift thwack to the back of his head put him out cold once more. Turning to the teal colored unicorn, I pondered on the possibility of her waking up.

Deciding the magic was just too much of a threat, I reached down to her horn and grasped it in my hand. Tensing my arm, I pulled against it as she suddenly awoke in a gasp.

"Stop!" Patches shouted to my left, causing me to stop just as Misty let out a pained whimper below. "What are you doing!?"

Looking at him, and glancing to the others around the room staring my way, I shrugged.

"Removing her magical instrument. Incase she wakes up." I stated simply, electing a shake of his head.

"You can't! Breaking a unicorn's horn puts them in immense pain for their whole lives!" He pleaded, looking down at Misty who was now awake and watching me with a terrified expression.

Looking down at her, I rolled my eyes and let go electing a sigh of relief from her as she moved to back up.

"Fine." I conceded, before reaching forward and smacking her head off the gold pile again to knock her out.

Patches eyes bulged as she collapsed in place. He looked at me as I shrugged and made my way towards where the "Exit" apparently was. Everyone quickly realized what I was doing and wasted no time in scrambling behind me into a small line.

The large cave stretched upwards into the stone, the floor flattened down giving a much smoother walking experience. As we walked, it got darker very quickly as the light of the hearthstone faded away behind us and plunged the area into darkness.

It was a long walk. At least it felt long walking at the pace we were, in near complete darkness. Eventually Zecora pulled out that red potion of hers, and decided to walk side by side with me to make sure we didn't collide with any sudden walls.

The moment we could see a blue spot in the distance, the ponies behind us started to murmur to each other.

Many of the ponies picked up the pace, quickly outpacing Zecora and I. Now it was just the two of us, walking side by side as we watched the small group come to a stop just infront of a glowing wall.

A small stone area was bathed in sunlight turned a blueish hue from the barrier along the large exit. A large portion of the cave wall shimmered in a translucent blue sheet, revealing the outside world just beyond. It was a place I recognized, next to the massive boulder by the base of the mountain I’d been knocked out at before.

All of the ponies were stopped just before the barrier, staring out and curiously prodding at it.

Holding his breath, Flint went first, followed closely by the rest.

I walked out with Zecora shortly after, looking around at the exact same scenery I'd seen just a couple days prior, yet it still elected a sense of nostalgia from me.

Nearby, the grey pony Stone took a deep breath in, before sighing contently.

I took a few steps to the right out into the sun, feeling it's sting on my neck instantly. For the first time in a while, I welcomed the feeling happily.

"You're okay! I knew she'd help!" A small voice suddenly chirped ahead of me.

Opening my eyes, I looked at the hovering form of Raven just a few feet away. I blinked a few times, but before I could speak another beat me to it.

Stepping out from behind me, Flint shook his head."Sapphire?" He half whispered, staring at the small filly.

Raven's eyes grew massive, her wings sputtering to a stop as she quickly lowered to the ground.

"D-dad?" She spoke in a cracked voice, blinking a couple times trying to process what she was seeing.

"You're alive! Oh my Celestia you're alright!" Flint shouted as he took off towards her, wrapping her in a large hug as she enthusiastically returned it. "Look how much you've grown! You're not a little raven anymore, are you?"

That's when a sudden pain pierced my heart, reopening a familiar wound deep in my soul. Something that pulled at the very core of my being while an overwhelming feeling of dread washed over me. For a moment, a brief glimpse into a long lost memory surfaced...

"Dad?" The voice rang out.

...

"Dal?" Zecora's voice suddenly pulled me back as she tugged my hand, grabbing my sudden attention. "...are you okay?"

I blinked, before looking back at Flint and his daughter as they embraced.

My headache had returned again.

"I think so." I paused, before looking back at the rest of the group to see them smiling at each other. "Come on," I interrupted, getting their attention, "I need to get to Tusk before our friends in there wake up again."

I sat across from Tusk's massive chair which, even while empty, was a behemoth in size as it dwarfed the smaller desk between us. I let out a huff and squirmed a bit, trying to get comfortable as the door behind me suddenly opened.

Tusk took a couple heavy steps as he walked past me, before spinning around and sitting in his massive seat. He landed with a sigh, looking at me in silence as he sized me up and down.

I still had blood covering the front of my chest, having walked in here covering myself with a cloak the whole time while hiding in the crowds. If I were seen like this I’d definitely be labeled a murderer or even worse, devourer, of ponies.

Definitely not the kind of image I'm after around these parts.

Scratching his chin, he shrugged. "You don't look too good."

"I'll change later."

"Hm." He hummed back, before tapping his right hand digits on his chair arm. "Not how I expected this to go down."

"Did you find them there like I said?" I asked, electing a nod from him. "Then is there a problem?" I continued, keeping my voice even as I matched his stare.

"...no. I'm just simply wondering, does this alter our deal?" He asked with a wave of his left hand.

"A bit." I stated with a nod. "After all, you kind of owe it to Flint. To all of them, actually. Considering they worked for you anyway. Right?"

He just looked at me, before nodding once. "Very well."

Pulling a drawer open, he retrieved the letter he showed me before in his desk and placed it on the table.

I reached forward to take it, but as I pulled it away he pushed down from the other end and stopped me.

"I could make you rich. If you worked for me, I could put your muscle to use very well." He stated seriously, looking me dead in the eyes.

"I know." I replied, pulling the letter out from his influence and looking down at it. "Freelance only. Maybe another time."

"And how do I know you'll be back?" He asked, leaning back in his chair as it groaned in displeasure.

"My axe." I stated, looking back at him. "I left it back there, in the cave. Ill be back for it, I expect it to still be here."

There was a moment of silence until he nodded. "Of course, It'll be waiting."

Without another word I made my way out of the room, and into the main lobby of the inn. I hurried past any patrons walking around midday, and scurried up to my room where Zecora was waiting. As I walked down the hall I looked down at the letter in my hand, rubbing my finger over the wax seal binding it.

“Hey.” A voice spoke up from behind, causing me to momentarily flinch as I remembered what the front of me still looked like.

Taking a peek back, I could see it was just Herb looking at me sheepishly from the start of the hall. I decided to go see what he had to complain to me about this time as I rolled my eyes and walked his way.

“Listen…” He began, looking to the left… back to the interior of the inn.

As he did I peeked around as well, and saw the miniature celebration going down inside.

The two grey brothers were both singing some kind of chant about a ‘fire ruby’ as they laughed together and chugged their drinks.

Flint and Raven, well… I guess it’s Sapphire, were sitting at their own table and sharing a platter of hayfries.

And poor Patches was standing nearby, nagging to Rock and Stone about how their consumption of alcohol at this rate will kill them before the end of the night.

“I never thought I’d see him again.” Herb finally spoke, shaking his head. “I blamed myself, I asked him to come here after all. And somehow, of all ponies, you changed everything.”

I shook my head, chuckling a bit to myself. “Herb, really, don’t give me too much credit. This is something you can only thank a higher power or luck for.”

Herb laughed, literally, before shaking his head. “Heh, maybe you’re right. Regardless, have a good night, Dalandor.”

I was still shocked at his total personality change, but managed a single nod as the pony happily returned to the room with the rest. Stealing one last glance at Flint's table, I returned to my room.

The apartment door swung freely, revealing the darkened interior as the windows light was blotted out by the closed drapes. Zecora slumbered nearby, her chest lightly rising and falling as she faced away from me. I walked past the bed and towards the other door in the room, opening it to find a small cramped bathroom.

Wasting no time, I cleaned up what I could off my face and neck while changing my clothes to a new set. When I was finally content with the lack of blood on my figure, I gave my face one last look over and noticed the stubble was much more visible on the bottom half of my jaw.

A small rub of my chin elected a sandpaper like texture and a shake of my head as I turned to leave with my messy clothes in tow. When I opened the door, I noticed Zecora was awake as she sat on her side, holding a quill in her mouth as she scribbled into a book open on the bed.

Her eyes flicked my way for a moment, before blinking and locking onto me as she dropped the quill into the book... closing it tight.

"So..." She started, crossing her front hooves together as she looked at me. "You said you'll tell me everything later, yes? What did you mean by that?"

As I stuffed my dirty clothes into my pouch I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Not here. On the road. Speaking of which I'd rather leave now, if you're ready." I asked, pulling my hood over my head and turning towards the door.

"Dal..." Zecora began but trailed off, causing me to look back.

She was standing now, looking away from me and thinking hard about something.

"I'm not sure I can go with you."

Her words hit me like daggers as I squinted slightly. "What? Why?"

She started rubbing her right foreleg, before sighing. "Dal back when you... when you killed Thunder. It was-" She paused as I looked down to the floor, furrowing my brows. "I mean it was like you were eating-"

"I wasn't!" I shouted suddenly, looking straight at her. "I'm a killer, Zecora. I fully understand that. But I do not devour the living."

Shaking her head, she didn't break eye contact with me.

"One question." I added, getting a look from her. "You can ask me one thing, right now, and I'll tell you the truth. Want to know what I am? Now's your chance."

"Can you control it?" She asked, getting me to pause as I stared back down at her.

"..." I opened my mouth to speak, and found it hard to formulate a response.

'Can I control it?'

No matter how hard I tried to think of an excuse, the truth was I already knew the answer.

"No..." I admitted, getting an inquisitive look from her.

I tried scanning her face, but decided against it as I turned away. Besides, I already knew what her answer was going to be. I quickly let myself out of the room, before making my way out of the inn and into the cool outside air.

I gave a small sigh to myself, looking up at the alien night sky.

Somehow, the sun had crawled down to the horizon in a few minutes, even though I swear it was only around 6 o'clock.

Ignoring the unnatural celestial bodies of this world, I began my short walk over to the office to check out my carriage. As I did, my thoughts wandered back to Zecora and for a moment I almost felt sorry for myself. Though, I knew this was going to happen eventually, even in Azeroth nobody would really be willing to adventure or even party with a Death Knight.

Most consider it a 'Bad look', I guess.

As I reached the offices, I paused as my hand touched the door.

'What lot number did Zecora say we were in? Eleven?' I thought hard as I tried to recall, but grunted in annoyance as I backed up a step only to bump into someone.

I fell backwards over them, both of us toppling over into a heap. I let out an annoyed grunt as I looked at my tripping victim, only to dawn a look of confusion.

Shaking the dirt from her mane, Zecora huffed as she looked at me.

"Jeez, you really power-trot fast for somepony with two legs." She quipped, before getting up and brushing the dust off her cloak.

Standing up, I shook my head. "But, I don't understand. You-"

"Dal, I would have been more upset if you told me you were in control, after having done... that." She looked away for a moment as she said it, but returned to meet my gaze. "This just means we have to work on control, is all." She added with nod.

I stared at her in bewilderment for a moment, before chuckling a bit and shaking my head.

"Plus, you probably forgot the lot number." She added as my smile dropped.

"Eleven." I quickly answered.

"Twelve." She corrected.

I didn't even acknowledge her answer as I walked through the nearby set of doors.

The steady sound of wooden spoke wheels on stone filled my ears as Zecora pulled the carriage along the path. The sun had long since left us by now as the stars sparkled overhead. Zecora said she was still a little thrown off after having stayed up for so long then napping, so she was content with leaving right away.

The town was finally starting to dip over the horizon as I looked back, before turning to the envelope resting in my left hand. Flipping it over, I went over the seal holding it shut, the image of a crystal pressed into the red wax.

"So this new route..." I started, meeting Zecora's gaze as she looked back towards me. "Where'd you hear this from?"

I pulled the map out as Zecora turned ahead again. "Got it from a pony back at the inn, said there's a village we can stop by on the way to the Empire that's nestled near a mountain pass." She paused for a second, before looking back to me. "Said he saw it while flying to the Empire."

Looking down at the map, I tried to trace my finger over where this supposed town was.

"Well, lets try it. If we don't find the pass I guess the Manehatten path is nearby..." I trailed off, rolling the map up and setting it aside before looking at the nearby envelope again. "Zecora-"

However I was cut off as a small blueish figure suddenly landed on the passenger seat.

I jumped in place as the cart lurched forward, Zecora bending around to look at the sudden sound. Sapphire sat in the seat next to me, giggling at both of our surprised faces.

Shaking my head, I looked down at the filly. "Your dad's gonna have a heart attack."

"He's asleep." She said with a shrug. "Besides, I had to come see you."

"Why?" I asked with a raise of my eyebrow.

"Uh... to say thanks?" She added jokingly, before suddenly bounding forward and wrapping her small legs around me.

"...thank you." She said again, before letting go and looking up at me.

I struggled to say something, but elected for just smiling at the filly and patting her on the head.

She said her goodbyes, then tore off towards the town on the horizon.

'That kid had some fire in her, that's for sure' I thought to myself as I watched her form quickly melt into the night sky.

"See, you can have a positive influence after all." Zecora added with a small chuckle as I rolled my eyes. "So, what were you saying?"

The previous topic I'd been sitting on suddenly resurfaced as I locked my eyes with the letter once more. Reaching over and picking it up, I flipped it over and slowly broke the seal.

"Back when I was making a deal with Tusk... I-" I started, but quickly tapered off as I opened the top of the envelope and noticed something off.

"Huh?" Zecora added, looking back at me to see me holding the letter in my hands. "What's that?"

"I.."

Looking down at the now exposed letter, I scanned the whole page for any information I could. However, one single thing held back any attempts to gleam even so much a hint from it's contents.

It was blank.

Completely. From the top to the bottom it was a fully blank sheet of paper, the only imperfections being the creases from it’s folds.

This was a trick, surely? Some clever spell was hiding the real message behind an illusion?

"Dal?" Zecora asked again, looking back at me in worry.

Meeting her look, I quickly stuffed the letter back into the envelope before putting it away in my pouch.

"Nevermind..." I began, leaning back and letting out a sigh, "Alright, so..." I paused, looking up at the sky. "...what'd you want to know?"

A long stretch of silence ensued, until Zecora finally broke the quiet with a question I’d felt coming for a long, long time.

"What are... what do you call yourself?" She asked, not looking back to where I sat.

There were plenty of answers I could give her, plenty of less dangerous or better suited terms I could use. But I figured, after all this time, she deserved the truth of what I really was.

"We were created to bring the downfall of Azeroth's champions, and subsequently, Azeroth itself… if possible." I said slowly, blinking once as I focused on one of the many stars in the sky. "I was raised by The Lich King, forced to kill for him and, ultimately, broke free of his control."

I took in a small breath, before looking down to Zecora who'd by now stopped walking and was just listening.

"I'm a Death Knight."

Chapter 16: A Pale Face

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Chapter 16: A Pale Face

My finger traced along the large, unraveled map on the ground. I looked it over as I lay on my side, a blanket between me and the cold ground as a fire ate away at some hefty logs nearby. Zecora slept in her own spot opposite to me on the other side of the firepit, turned away and bundled under her own makeshift sleeping bag. The heat from the flames was more than enough to stave off the cold, and Zecora had long since fallen into the clutches of her dreams.

My eyes followed the path we’d travelled, and plan to travel, on the parchment. Though, I seemed to have trouble focusing on the many landmarks as my thoughts couldn't help but wander back to our recent conversation.

Sighing, I rubbed my face and rolled up the map. Tucking it under my blanket, I lay onto my back and stared into the starry sky.

An hour earlier

"So... you don't remember?" Zecora asked softly from her spot next to the fire, laying on her belly as she regarded me. "It's all gone?"

Nodding slowly, I looked down at the fire for a second. "I can remember... moments. If that makes sense." I paused to meet her gaze as I shrugged. "They're real, I can feel they were real. Even still, I do not always recognize them..."

Pausing, I squinted a bit trying to recall the whispers of fragmented memories plaguing my mind.

"Old faces... voices... names..." I shook my head and breathed out a sigh. "It's like it's all being held behind glass, you know?"

Zecora looked back at me with sympathetic eyes. "What’s the first thing you remembered?"

"My name." I stated abruptly, waiting several seconds before turning to look at the nearby zebra's expression.

She was listening with bated breath, no other emotion readily evident on her face.

"And... my rebirth." I added, taking in her thoughtful gaze. "I was... brought back, Zecora. Do you... understand what I mean?" I asked, getting a hesitant nod from the striped pony.

"So you're a... um...-" She sheepishly avoided my eyes as she either searched for the correct term, or hesitated saying what was on her tongue.

"Undead." I enunciated with an undertone of disgust, the word causing my stomach to twist uncomfortably. "Yes. That is what I am."

I could almost see her eyes shift slightly, as if she was looking at me from a new angle.

“But you eat, you drink! I’ve seen you sleep and rise from nightmares.” She rattled off with a tilt of her head.

“I'm an oddity,” I replied, “-usually we don’t.”

This is where I expected the conversation to take a turn, however her words remained kind.

"What did this to you?" She asked in a sorrowful tone.

I could almost feel my hair stand up as the image of that monster flashed to the front of my mind, his blue eyes regarding me with no more respect than the bodies I lay upon.

Swallowing, I cleared my dry throat. "A Lich, a man who took a very dark path and harnessed terrible power. He meant to use us as an army, forced us to do many terrible deeds. But, in the end we were freed from his influence."

"Influence?" Zecora cut in, tilting her head a bit. "So you were under his control?"

A wave of dread fell over me as her question shook my thoughts. Not because I didn't know the answer.

But because I did.

'No...'
"…yes."

"We all were." I added, "It is not a time... I like to look back to." Zecora nodded slowly as she rubbed her two front hooves together.

“And, before that… you never found out? Anything?” She asked.

Shaking my head, I huffed. “It was… a long time until we were even considered ‘citizens’. Most still don’t.” I punctuated my explanation with a shrug. “I’ve no idea where I might have come from before I was a Death Knight. Before I was worgen. I’ve tried learning about the early worgen sightings… figure out where I got the curse but-“ I cut myself off with an annoyed grunt, “-even information is given sparsely to… the likes of me.”

There was a short silence as I watched the fire eat away at the dwindling pile of wood scraps.

I shrugged. “So I turned to books, became a bit of a hermit I guess… but not much had yet been written on recent events and what had been was not something I could easily obtain. So I gave up.” I finished, finally looking up to Zecora.

She hadn’t moved from her spot and it doesn’t even look like she’d blinked. As her gaze locked with mine she fluttered her eyes and shook her head.

“Gave up? But… what if you had old friends, a family?” She asked, electing a sigh from me.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Not like it really matters anymore.” I answered in an uncaring tone.

“Well…” Zecora started, laying down a bit more and looking up towards the sky. “-Dal, if you ever find a way home… I’ll help you search.”

Chuckling to myself, I shook my head a bit. “I appreciate it, Zecora.” There was a long stretch of quiet, until I spoke up again. “So, from where did you come from?” I asked glancing her way to see her ears ever so slightly droop.

She looked to be thinking about something. “Oh, well… that was a long time ago, and a long story Dal…” She paused before shuffling a bit in place, “-maybe another night, I am quite tired after today.”

She punctuated her excuse with a small smile, which I hesitantly returned.

“Try to sleep yourself, okay?” She asked before slowly rolling over and pulling her own blanket up.

I didn’t answer and elected for throwing a couple very large logs on the fire to burn through the night.

“How much further, do you think?” I asked from my spot on the carriage as it steadily made its way along the path.

“Well, those are the Crystal Mountains… there,” She paused with a motion ahead as I squinted to get a look. “There should be a town on the south-west…ish side of one of those mountains coming up.”

Sure enough, I could see what looked like the peaks of blue mountains on the horizon, however they were barely visible over the many white clouds surrounding them and stretching on above us. It was that exact moment where a single snowflake caught my eyes as it gently fell some ways down the trail.

A part of me wanted to armor back up being this far out of town, but I was beginning to grow fond of the freedom afforded to the cloak I currently wore. Pulling my hood back, my hair swung free as the chilly breeze gently tugged at each strand.

Zecora took one glance back at me and gave a violent shiver.

“Equestrian winters are always so bucking cold! I almost envy your resistance…” Zecora muttered at the end.

I looked at the shaking zebra and got an idea as I jumped off the carriage and followed alongside her.

“I’ll admit, sometimes always being cold does come in handy.” I said as I plucked a single leaded vial from my pouch.

“Is… that was it’s like?” She asked, looking my way and scanning me with her eyes.

Nodding a bit, I set the vial in the heater as I walked. “More or less, yeah.” I answered back as I browsed my available herbs.

As I grabbed the two I was looking for, I swore under my breath and shook my head as my eyes glanced over my other stock.

Apparently not quietly enough as Zecora quickly glanced my way. “What's the matter?” She asked as she buried her muzzle into her scarf, wrapped tightly inside her cloak’s hood.

As I dropped the prepared reagents into the vial, Goldthorn and Wintersbite, I spared her a quick look before focusing on the potion.

“We’re almost out of Goldclover. Until we return to Ponyville, that is.” I answered as I stamped and swirled the vial.

“How many are left?” She asked as I inspected the forming potion in my hands.

“Three.”

Not a moment after I finished the potion did the falling snow seem to thicken. It accumulated on the ground quickly as our steps lightly *crunched* on the thin white layer.

“What's that for?” Zecora asked through slightly chittering teeth.

“For you.” I replied, stretching it outwards in my grasp.

She stopped walking and locked eyes with the vial, light blue like the sky with swirling streaks of white. Her hesitation was barely a passing thought as she took the potion and uncorked it before throwing it all back.

I could see the immense wave of relief on her features as her body stopped shaking and her eyes widened.

With a smirk, I motioned to the vial. “Frost protection potion. Should absorb the cold for a few hours at least.”

She looked down at the empty potion and chuckled. “Seems like you have a potion for everything.”

Nodding, I shrugged. “More or less, yeah. Its just a matter of materials,” I began as I pat my storage pouch, “-and wisdom.” I finished with a tap on my right temple.

The hours passed and the snow was accumulating extremely fast, enough that each step was starting to sink into the snow. Zecora had begun shivering again, and I was starting to get worried about this village being all the way out here in this hellish snow.

It wouldn’t stop, and only seemed to worsen as we got towards our perceived destination. Part of me was almost beginning to think that whatever was causing this snowfall was magical in origin. Looking to Zecora next to me, I could see her squinting through the icy bombardment blinding her as she trekked forward.

Shaking my head, I sighed. “Enough!” I yelled over the whistling wind as she turned to me and cracked an eye open. “Get inside! I’ll pull from here.”

“But you said-“ She began, before getting cut off as I shouted over her.

“Forget what I said! I’ll figure it out!”

She stared at me for a moment, before making her way to the carriage’s side door. I followed her in, closing off the harsh wind blasting into my back behind me. The howl of the storm pounded on the oaken walls of the vehicle as I made my way around Zecora and over to my piled up armor. I elected for suiting up, the snow starting to weigh me down as it stuck to the fibers of my clothes. I hoped the slick metal would help keep the snow from sticking. I finished tightening my chest piece before pulling my helmet down over my head. With one last readying breath, I opened the door to a torrent of icy wind.

My metal boots crunched through the fresh powder, large flakes of snow pelting off my armor. Returning to the front and looking down at the harness, I unlatched it from the chains it was bound to and threw it into the front seat. Reaching down, I wrapped the two chains a few times around my right hand before turning away and draping it over my shoulder.

I heaved the carriage as I stared towards my destination. The road was nothing but the slightest indent, our only reassurance we were moving the right way.

The weight of the carriage, at first, was barely a burden. However, as minutes turned to an hour it rapidly began sapping me of energy. This wasn’t going to work.

At least, not without some help.

I dug back into my bag, retrieving two more kinds of herbs and another leaded vial.

With a bit of difficulty because of the relentless weather, I managed to process the herbs as I stared at the greenish potion with the likeness of slime.

I popped the cork back off and downed it as I felt my throat tighten. I hacked back a cough as I nearly dropped the vial, the fire flowing through my veins igniting my muscles as it passed. The pain faded as I bent down and picked the chains back up.

The cart felt light as a feather now, like I was holding a balloon.

“What was that?” Zecora asked from behind me.

Looking back, I could see her watching me from a small sliding window just behind the front seat. It was made of what appeared to be multiple interconnected pieces of wood in an accordion like style, forming one long window that folded as you slid it open.

“Elixir… Ogre’s strength,” I spoke over the wind. “-how much further!?”

“There should be a marker any time now!” She yelled back as I refocused ahead. “I don’t know why the Pegasi are letting the storm get so bad!” She added a moment later, grabbing my curiosity instantly.

“What... what do you mean!?” I blurted back, confused. “Like, the Pegasi control the snow!?”

“Of course!” She yelled back, awarding a bewildered expression from myself. “Ponies control all of the weather!”

‘What the fuck?'

Shaking my head, I tried not to think about how much work controlling the weather of this planet would be, or how at all they could manage it… suppressing myself from asking anymore questions on the matter.

Tonight after we find an inn, I’m cracking open a damn book!

“There!” Zecora suddenly sounded from behind me.

I looked ahead and saw what looked like a large curved rock. It sat almost as if perched on two legs, its hollow center causing a low howling sound as the wind rushed through it.

“He said turn left at whistling rock and you should find the town!” Zecora yelled over the torrent of wind with a bunched up muzzle. “Okay, good luck!” She added, closing the hatch as I turned the cart into the wind.

I walked on, trying to stay as ‘straight’ as I could after the turn. Either we were walking off-road, or the snow build up had gotten so bad I couldn't even tell. My eyes squint into the harsh blizzard as the winds sporadically changed direction, until a strange shape in the white void caused me to stop.

I scanned the vast emptiness to my right for the figure I had seen, but the harder I tried to look the more it seemed the snow obscured it. I shook my head and re-settled the chain over my shoulder before moving to continue my walk.

I got a few more steps, before I once again saw the silhouette in my right peripheral. My head snapped to it, locking onto the rogue shape in the storm.

“HELLO?!” I shouted towards what I hoped was a pony.

I was instantly met with a familiar sensation. The sensation of being watched. The pony shaped figure must have been looking at me, however… one thing had immediately put me on edge. Or perhaps, the lack of something.

Unlike any time before when I was being watched, the two icicles boring into me from the perpetrators vision; I shuddered at the unfamiliar feeling, the feeling of a single intense beam of cold burning into me.

This thing only had one eye.

My breath hitched, and I stood completely still as I met the things stare.

Then, it took a step.

It’s shadowed figure straightened out as it fully faced me. My breathing was tense as I slowly loosened my grip on the chains in my hand, letting them down carefully into the snow.

It hadn’t reacted, like it was waiting for my next move. Suddenly the wind direction changed, and I was assaulted with a burst of cold to my face.

Carrying with it the pungent scent of decay.

I barely even had a moment to register what it was, before Zecora opened the coach window again.

“Dal?! Whats-“ She started, but was cut off as the nearby figure let out a gurgling shriek.

Both our eyes snapped to the figure as it broke into a hobbled sprint towards the caravan. I blinked once, the surprise of what I was seeing momentarily dazing me. I snapped back quickly however as the sound of Zecora’s sudden scream kicked my instincts back into gear.

The thing sprint full speed towards us, leaping into the carriage’s side causing it to rock over onto two wheels for a moment. It was definitely a pony, emphasis on ‘was’. The right side of it's face has seemingly been ripped off, and much of it’s once brown body frozen blue in various spots... patches of missing fur dotted everywhere along it's flesh. One of it’s wings were bent at an awkward angle and the other was gone completely, only a protruding bone where it once was.

Though, most disturbing of all it’s features had to be it’s single eye that lazily rolled around it’s unbalanced head… the other having been ripped out sometime recently.

The ghoulish pony let out a gurgled cry as it lurched off the carriage and careened towards me with snapping teeth. I took one step back, bracing myself, and avoided it's maw whilst sliding my hands around it's midsection. Straining my whole body, I swung the thing around and onto the ground as it rolled a couple times.

I didn't give it a chance to reorient itself as I hurriedly strode up to it and stomped my armored foot down upon it's neck. I was rewarded with a squelching sound as the pony twitched a couple times, before finally falling still.

"Dal!" Zecora screamed as she slammed the window shut and opened the carriage door a moment later. "What are you doing!"

"Stay inside!" I shouted back, waving my hand towards her.

She didn't listen however, and quickly made her way towards me.

"You killed him!" She shouted, "Dal, why would you-"

"Shut up!" I screamed back, holding her mouth shut with my own hands. "Don't... yell." I whispered close to her face, before carefully scanning the area around us.

She tried to shake me off at first, however as she finally took in the visage of the rotting pony her ears instinctively folded down. I held her for a moment longer as I looked into the blizzard around us, before meeting eyes with Zecora again and gently releasing her muzzle.

"W-what... happened to him." She asked, hesitantly glancing to the mangled pony.

"..." I stayed quiet as I stared down at the thing.

It had to be a ghoul, there was no mistaking it. You don't forget that scent... the scent of disease and rot cursed unto flesh.

My upper lip curled in disgust as I turned away from the corpse and surveyed the area.

'How?' I thought to myself as I scanned the blizzard. 'Am I not the only thing that made it through the veil?'

"I have a hunch." I began, pointing back to the carriage. "Get back inside. We have to go."

We both looked at each other again, and I could see the worry in her eyes. However, it was complimented with something else...

"Zecora, we cant." I began, making my way to the carriage. "This is not something we can handle, trust me."

She simply shook her head. "But, the town. They should be close, we should warn-"

"They're probably already dead, Z." I stated coldly, getting her to look at me in surprise. "And we'll be too if we don't leave, now."

She processed my words for a moment, before shaking her head. "How could you possibly know that."

I motioned to the dead pony. "It came from somewhere. If I had to guess... nearest town." Bending down, I picked the chains back up and glanced at Zecora. "And there's never only one."

That's when a pained scream rang out nearby, followed immedietly by a gurgling screech.

We both looked to our left and saw two ponies wrestling in the snow. I dropped the chains in my hand and ran towards them as fast as I could. I could see the one underneath frantically trying to remove the other pony who was gnashing at their neck.

I barely missed a beat as I plunged my hand into the pouch and retrieved my sword. I aimed for my targets side, the blade still wrapped in linen and obscuring it's true splendor.

It didn't impede it's sharpness, however, as it pierced the ghoul's ribs like butter.

The pony, who's lips had been ripped away showing it's nasty teeth, opened it's eyes in shock and let go of the mare below. I heft the impaled pony up by the hilt of my sword and spun around, causing it to violently rip out and toss the ghoul away.

The linen was gone, my sword glowing as the blue runes etched upon it's surface were freed for all to see. With my Runeblade in hand, even my ghostly blue eyes had returned while in human form.

I looked down at the pony, who was just barely managing to look up at me in fear as she choked on her breathing and frantically covered her face with her forehooves.

She kicked her hind legs under her, trying to push away from me.

"No... p-please-" She begged, shaking her head as the sound of the nearby ghoul once again demanded my attention.

I turned towards it as it hobbled my way, not a drop of blood coming from the fresh wound through it's side. I faced it fully, pulling my sword to the side and reaching forward with my empty hand.

The ghoul's body reacted instantly as cold chains bound it, reeling it down into the snow as it groaned in anger. Bringing my sword up with both hands, I took a breath and cleaved downwards. My determination to see this thing dead resonated with my weapon as it left a faintly visible red trail behind it.

It’s head came off cleanly as the corpse fell, unmoving once more.

I barely regarded the dead ghoul, before turning around with my head on a swivel. I looked all around, making sure no others would appear from the snowy visage before regarding the gasping mare. Her eyes shrunk to pinpricks as I moved her way.

Frantically rolling over, she tried to crawl away whilst mumbling incoherently.

“Hey.” I began, coming up beside her as she went still.

A few more seconds went by, until she hesitantly looked up at me with unbridled fear.

“Death claims me… sweet Celestia this is it…” She whimpered to herself as she continued to try and get away.

“Relax, pony. I’m not here to harm you.” I stated firmly, getting the pony to look back up to me.

Stashing my blade on my back I bent low, getting close to the small earth mare’s face. She instinctively flinched, closing her eyes and refusing to look my way.

I could feel Zecora’s eyes on my back as I faced the pony, but I ignored her presence and focused entirely on the shivering mare.

“Look at me.” I stated, coaxing her eyes open slowly. “Have you seen others like me. Human.”

Her gaze flicked between my two eyes, before shakily nodding. “Y-You look… j-just like it…” She mumbled, covering her face with her hooves. “Blue eyes, silver sword…” She paused, turning towards the dead ghoul with a choked sob.

My stomach felt like lead, the sound of the rushing wind drowned out by my thoughts.

Another Death Knight was in Equestria, and they were spreading a plague of undeath.

I hardened my gaze, causing the pony's shivering to intensify. That’s when I noticed the state she was in. Her ribs visible under the red fur, her eyes sunken from lack of sleep. She was already nearly freezing, there was no way she was gonna make it to the next town before dropping dead.

I picked her up with my right arm, causing her to struggle vainly as I walked past my silent companion. We all re-entered the carriage as I pulled the door shut, the sound of the storm suddenly growing much quieter. The pony had slowly stopped struggling after realizing I wasn’t going to hurt her, at least I hoped.

I lay her down on a long fold out bench against the wall, her eyes locked straight and unmoving.

Turning to Zecora, I saw she was standing on the end of the same bench with the sliding window slightly cracked open. She peered out, looking for any signs of movement.

“Anything?” I asked.

She shook her head quickly in response. “No.” Looking one last time before sliding the window shut, she turned towards me. “Dal, what the hay was… that.”

“… I don't know the word in your tongue, but in common we call it 'ghoul.'” I said, electing a look of confusion from her. "The flesh cursed into undeath."

Her face contorted into horror as she shook her head. "Raising the dead? But... who would commit something so abhorrent!"

“Something like me.” I stated coldly, standing up and pulling my sword off my back. “Zecora, I'm gonna be honest with you. That town is probably done for,” I paused with my back to her, before letting out a sigh. “We should leave and alert the princesses.”

“No!” The pony on the bench suddenly burst into the conversation, electing both our attentions. “Y-you're strong, right? You can get them out of there, Please!” She pleaded, suddenly getting off the bench and making her way over to Zecora.

Wrapping her arms around the Zebra, she immediately broke down.

“P-Please…” She hiccupped between words as Zecora tried to console her, “-my daughter… she’s still there, please, you have to!” She sobbed, taking a glance in my direction before wiping her eyes. “We were out of food! S-She was getting sick and I-I said... I said I’d try and make it through the storm and... get help.”

My hand squeezed the hilt of my sword, thinking hard. “How many days ago did this start.” I said seriously, electing a small squeak from the pony.

“Almost a w-week ago… ponies started disappearing.” She admitted with intermittent hiccups, electing a shake of my head. “But the monsters… they just started a couple days ago, on the eve of the storm.”

“The place is probably overrun now. We’re not going.” I said with finality.

Her eyes cast downwards, and I could see the final string holding her psyche in place break as her eyes glassed over. She sat on her haunches, covering her face with her forehooves and mumbling to herself.

“I'm so sorry baby… I shouldn’t have left- oh Celestia why…” Her words came out in a quiet monotone at first, until she finally started to break down again and sob.

Zecora consoled the mare before glancing to me with distaste.

I glared back, trying to make it clear just how impossible it would be for one man to enter a scourge infested town.

“Z, one is nothing. But there could be dozens… hundreds of those things at once.” I warned, causing her hard look to soften as she finally began to process the odds.

“…” She didn’t say anything for a while, before glancing to the pony still crying in her arms. “Do what you have to, Dal. I trust you’ll make the right decision.”

I broke eye contact with her and quickly left, the carriage door closing behind me as I entered the nearly knee deep snow. Staring into the white abyss, I rubbed my face with my free hand as my nerves tingled in annoyance.

‘Fffuuck…’ I flipped my sword by the hilt, twisting it in my hand as I round' the carriage.

‘Fuck!’ I shook my head, glaring at the two ghouls almost entirely covered with fresh snow.

‘…fuck.’ I sighed, realizing my mind had already been made up ages ago.

Giving one last look into the unrelenting blizzard, I turned to Jump onto the carriage and knock on the window. I waited but a moment until it slid open and Zecora looked back at me in earnest.

“Get her up here. I'm gonna need directions.” I stated without looking towards the Zebra.

I could see her smile in my peripheral before disappearing inside. A moment later, the other mare popped her head out, followed next by Zecora as the long window slid open fully.

The mare’s hoof stuck out the window, near the direction I’d killed the ghoul attacking her. “Fillyfjell is that way, you have to hurry! Things were getting bad when I left…” She begged with desperation evident in her voice.

I turned towards the direction she was pointing, before looking down at my satchel and pondering what to prepare. Reaching inside, I grabbed the remaining three goldclover and all the other herbs I needed for my plan.

I mixed the herbs together, creating three runic healing potions which shone brightly as I stuffed them back into my pouch. Along with one other… the ‘Indestructible potion’ as it was so famously dubbed.

While it didn’t last close to as long as other durability potions, it was nearly ten times as potent. It was my ace in the sleeve incase things got rough.

“What is he doing? Please you need to go now!” The mare pleaded from the carriage, and promptly consoled by Zecora.

“Trust me.” She said, tapping her on the shoulder. “Just… let him do his thing.”

I glanced back at Zecora, and she responded with a confident nod.

Turning towards the direction she described, I let out a calming breath.

'No time for morals… I cannot hold back.’ My thoughts whispered as I looked down to my right hand, and the Runeblade resting in it’s grasp.

Like many times before, the mist enveloped me before being whisked away by the torrent of winds and revealing my worgen form. I ignored the fearful sounds made by the other pony behind me, and picked the chain up with my left hand to begin my march.

I moved with purpose, pulling the carriage at a steady pace and darting my eyes all over the landscape. Every now and then I swear I could barely see the silhouette of a pony in the distance and turned quickly to avoid them. The blizzard seemingly worked in my favor, the ghoul’s poor eyesight exaggerated by the harsh conditions.

At least, I hoped as much.

It was mid day when we had entered this snowstorm, but the storm was so thick it already looked like dusk. Before I knew it, the looming shadow of a home began to appear not 15 feet ahead of me. I stopped suddenly, looking back at the ponies as they nervously glanced around.

I brought a single claw to my mouth in a ‘Shhh’ gesture while looking to the mare for direction. She pointed to the left of the house, so I obliged. Pulling the cart, I looked around the edge of the building before walking around it and into the town. Homes with darkened windows lined the empty streets, not a single soul anywhere to be seen.

Tracks littered the freshly fallen snow all around, the evidence of many wandering dangers still undetected.

A light tapping from the coach caught my attention as I glanced behind me. The terrified pony point towards something that looked like an old library with two big doors. The building was situated just across a small open area surrounding a lone statue of a pegasus mid dive. Slowly, I trudged through the snow towards my target.

I only got about halfway across, when a sudden noise caused me to stop.

A low, throaty groan rang out from the right as a hulking monstrosity come out from behind a nearby house. It was a very large pony, larger even than that red pony I met at the orchard. It’s head was bent at an awkward angle as it dragged one hoof behind itself. It wasn’t alone, as ghouls of all sizes seemingly materialized from the blizzard. I readied my sword as the pony in the carriage whimpered and started to panic, but as three turned to ten, then to fifteen… I knew this was quickly becoming unwinnable.

At first, they stumbled out in a confused daze... until one after another they all began to take notice of us.

“Fuck… shit! Zecora, no good!” I said as the large one suddenly broke into a sprint. “Fuck, run!” I yelled back at the two frozen ponies, pointing at the library doors.

I ran towards the massive ghoul, stopping his charge with a slice to his leg as I passed. It dropped but didn’t give up as it grasped for my feet. Like a switch, the rest of the horde gave chase, all having selected me as their target. Pulling all of them to the right side of the clearing, away from the carriage, I turned and saw the absolute horde tailing me.

Preparing a familiar spell, death and decay, I threw it into the ground under me as I ran on two legs. Running on all fours was a no go, the deep snow making it an impossibility.

The spell worked it's magic as the ground bubbled where it had landed, ethereal hands slowing down some of the mob. A few even got devoured completely, rapidly decomposing as they lay within the spell’s boundary.

My eyes locked onto Zecora as they left the carriage and trudged through the deep snow towards the library.

One particularly fast ghoul got too close for comfort as it’s forehoof barely slipped off the back of my armor, electing a wide slash from me as I ran. The decapitated ghoul was instantly trampled as the horde trailed just behind, gnashing their maws furiously in an attempt to devour me.

The two ponies made it to the doors, slamming on them as soon as they could reach. “Open the doors! Hurry!” I could hear the mare shout as she pound on the solid obstacle.

Some ghouls had started to take notice, electing a few choice words under my breath. I kept my distance to hopefully keep more from breaking off, and grasped at one with my empty hand that was just a few feet from Zecora.

The ghoul launched my way, however before it could reach me my balance was thrown off as a ghoul jumped onto my back and bit down. My spaulder absorbed the bite, the large pony's mouth getting good coverage as the armor groaned.

I could feel the row of serrated metal pressing into my shoulder as I winced. I punched the pony a few times in the snout, finally getting it loose after the last swing made a sickening *crunch.*

It tumbled behind me and into the horde, knocking many of them over this time. My legs burned as I ran, approaching the two ponies that were furiously pounding on the library doors. Two ghouls had them flanked, but they never got the chance to close the distance as I made it to them first.

I stabbed my sword right through the back of the left pony’s head, causing it to fall limp as I pulled it out and swung right to decapitate the other. They both lay dead as I huffed, looking at the two ponies staring back at me in fear. Looking behind me, I could see the horde stumbling over eachother as they neared.

I turned to the door and slammed my fist on it, hard. The sound reverberated through the whole building.

“Open the door! Now!” I yelled, turning to the nearing horde and shaking my head. “Fuck, fuckfuckfuck.”

I reached into my pouch, fumbling with my potions as I grabbed the inky black vial I’d just made.

Downing it, the tar flowed down my throat and it felt like my limbs themselves turned into iron. I ran ahead of the two ponies and held my sword in both hands.

The attack hit like a tsunami. It took all my will just to remain upright as I cleaved through anything I could, dodging downright impossible as limbs scratched at every piece of my body. I aimed for any pony that managed to climb above chest level, my muscles burning as I heaved the sword through their bodies and killing a few for every dozen strikes to my armor. The ghouls literally piled over each other to try and reach me... I knew if I fell down the fight would be over in seconds.

I tried summoning a shield of bones from the ghouls I killed, the spinning shrapnel tearing apart a few of them as they relentlessly struck, bit and rammed me.

But no matter what I did, it wasn’t enough.

“Dal!” Zecora shouted suddenly, grabbing my attention as I just barely saw her through the doors closing between us.

Using all the strength I could muster, I charged through the barrier of bodies and ran. Even through the potion, my whole body ached. Dents littered my armor, pushing down against my flesh painfully. Any spots where there had been chainmail was torn away, my bleeding skin visible just underneath.

I made it to the door, slamming into it as it refused to budge. I could hear a commotion on the other side, but I didn't have time to process the words as I spun around to face the horde again. Many had fallen backwards over each other or the bodies they stepped over when I broke free, but the confusion didn't last nearly long enough.

My mind reeled as I looked all over for an out, until the bodies of the two ghouls I disposed of earlier that attacked Zecora caught my attention. The mob was just a couple feet from walking over them, and then barely a spitting distance from me. In the split second, I made the decision I knew I'd probably regret.

Dropping my sword, I grasped forward with both of my clawed hands towards the dead ghouls. A moment went by, then an explosion rang through the air as I tried to cover my face. I felt dozens of shards impact my right side as I looked away, the blast throwing me into the doors and electing a loud ringing in my ears.

I shook my head to try and re-orient myself, but the high pitched feedback refused to fade as I sat my back against the doors. I looked around clumsily from my spot on the ground, my eyes making out the shape of my sword as I groaned and picked it up with my right hand. My worgen form had seemingly dispelled, the massive blast nearly knocking me unconscious. The horde infront of me was in a state of discord, the two explosions having scattered them while painting the once brilliant snow a hideous shade of red.

Even so, many of them had survived the attack… having been merely dazed and peppered with shrapnel. I tried to lift my blade, the armor covering my arm punctured with bone shards as my muscles burned with effort. I pulled off my helmet and let it fall into the snow, trying to clear my worsening vision. Before I could prepare for the next wave, the doors behind me suddenly opened.

I fell back and felt someone grab around my arms. I couldn't see their face, the dark interior and blurry vision making it impossible.

"Close it!" I heard them yell, his voice booming over my ringing ears.

The last bit of light went out with a thunderous *bang* as I stared towards the ceiling. Hoof-steps echoed all around me as the sounds of debris piled against the doors.

A few moments after the ruckus settled down, a pony spoke up. “That should hold, for now…” They grumbled out as I tried to prop myself up on my left hand.

My heart thumped in my ears as I fumbled with my pouch for a healing potion, before remembering all the shrapnel still stuck in my flesh. Before I could even ponder how fucked I was, a mare’s voice suddenly yelled out nearby.

“It’s taking something out!” She screamed as I suddenly noticed the stares currently burning my way.

My breathing was rough as I tried to look between the small group of ponies all regarding me with varying looks. I could see Zecora among them, her white and black stripes helping her stand out easily as she looked on in worry.

“Don’t move, monster!” A larger grey pony, the one who dragged me in here, said as he approached me from the right.

He was holding a large piece of lumber against the groove between his shoulder and neck, hefting it along with each step of his left leg. He was ready to swing the thing, easily, down on my head as he looked at me through his black bangs in disgust.

“Don’t!” Zecora yelled from inside the group of five other ponies, two of which held her in place. “He’s not one of them, he’s with me!”

“Shut up!” He yelled back, looking at Zecora for a second before locking eyes with me again. “You’re the one that caused all this, you brought those monsters!”

“No…” I said with a wince, shaking my head.

“Lies!” He yelled, reaching over and grabbing the piece of wood with his right hoof.

“It’s not him!” Another pony yelled, the one I saved out in the blizzard. “It can’t be. He saved me Blitz.” She added, pulling closer another pony I hadn’t noticed the first time… a small filly which cowered at my gaze.

Blitz looked between us, thinking hard as he slowly let the wooden beam rest on his shoulder again.

Shaking his head, he squint his eyes as he examined me. “You’re… not the demon? But, you look-“

“I am one, but not like that.” I cut in, getting a look from him. “I… I’m not one of his slaves. Not anymore.” I spoke this time with a drop of malice.

There was a long silence, until he looked back to the two ponies holding Zecora. They promptly let go of her as she ran over to me and slid to a stop on the stone floor. She quickly looked me over as I fell back. She pulled one of the potions from my pouch, but I rapidly shook my head electing a look of confusion from her.

“Remove… the shrapnel first.” I spoke in a tired tone, reaching under my left shoulder plate and unlatching it.

Zecora helped me remove my armor, though the process of taking the arm and chest piece off was an extremely painful procedure. The chest was littered with holes, completely unusable. The same went for over half of the armor as we peeled the rest off, whether it be from the shrapnel or caused by the horde.

Plenty of shards ripped out with the armor, plenty did not.

“They all need to be… removed.” I said through grit teeth as I looked down my right arm. “Quickly. If you can.” I added as Zecora started pulling at the first piece.

I clenched my teeth as she pulled them out. She tried to hide the disgust on her face after she realized what it was made of, and failed. Progress was slow, but it was taking too long and I could feel my concentration slipping.

“Not… fast enough.” I groaned, looking towards the group of ponies nearby and locking on to one in specific. “Come, you.”

The pony hesitated, but slowly walked over. She was a light green unicorn, just what I needed.

“Use your magic… pull them all out.” I began, waiting for her to make her move. “Do it!” I added angrily, electing a slight whimper from her.

She lit up her magic, along with a few of the protruding spikes.

“No!” I said, getting her to jump. “All of them! At once!”

She looked at me in horror, before lighting her horn up even brighter. A moment later it felt like hundreds of serrated needles were torn out, coating the floor just beside me in a crimson hue. I rolled slightly, groaning in pain as I fought to stay awake.

Zecora pulled me back over and frantically hoofed the potion towards me, which I clumsily accepted. The potion did it’s work, as much as it could, as the pain hastily flowed away and I sighed in relief. I lay my head back onto the stone floor for a moment, breathing deeply and trying to focus.

After a bit longer, I propped myself up and scoot back towards a nearby bookshelf to sit against. Zecora went to speak, but I held my hand up before the words left her mouth.

“Just… hold on.” I said in a winded tone, reaching into my pouch and retrieving another runic healing potion.

I took a readying breath before downing the second one, feeling it reignite the previous potion’s efforts. I took a few more seconds to compose myself as I looked at the rest of the room. The large pony from before was anxiously watching the doors, two large bookshelves leaned against them. The red mare I'd helped was consoling a frightened child that matched her color but sported wings of it’s own.

The two ponies that had been holding Zecora in place looked male, both also with wings on their side. One was teal with a silver mane, while the other was all white with a short blue cut. And lastly the green colored unicorn who helped me sat on her haunches nearby, silent.

That made six ponies in this town. If these were the remaining survivors, that is.

I shook my head as I stood, looking around for my sword before spotting it lying where I’d been dragged to. The large grey pony stood next to it, staring down at it with a stoic look on his face. He could hear me approaching from the side as he lift his head slowly towards me. His face didn’t change as we both locked eyes for a moment.

Reaching down, I grasped my Runeblade.

I couldn’t hide the flash of blue mist that ignited in my eyes, as his gaze flashed back to the sword that stuck itself to my back.

“So…” He began, looking at me with suspicion. “You’re not one of theirs, you said.”

“I wouldn’t be talking to you if I was.” I stated back, looking to the front doors. “This town is lost. You must flee.”

“No!” He yelled back. “My whole family lives here, my brother… I-“

“They’re dead.” I cut in, electing a surprised look from him that quickly turned sour. “I saw your spitting image out there, at least… your brother already is.”

“You son of a-“ He began, taking a few hard steps forward until a red blur moved in-front of him. “Get out of my way, Ruby!” He yelled at the mare, electing a stern shake of her head.

“Blitz… I'm so sorry.” She started, shaking her head. “I saw him too…”

He processed her admission, his face playing through an array of emotions as he pulled away.

“N-no… he-“

Though, the moment was cut short as a new voice cleaved the atmosphere.

“So, this is where you’ve all been hiding…” The unknown voice pierced the room, immediately grabbing everyone’s attention as we looked to the doors.

All of the ponies looked on in confusion, not knowing what they just heard.

But I did, clear as day… for it was spoken in perfect Common.

A small series of light knocks rattled on the doors, getting all the ponies inside to flinch in fear.

“It’s here… oh Sisters it knows! We’re doomed!” The white pegasus began as he frantically looked around for a way out.

Panic set in instantly, all of the ponies huddling closer and slowly backing away from the doors.

“If you don’t open these doors… I’m gonna have to do it myself~.” The voice cooed in a tone that dripped with threat.

I could feel the presence on the other side growing impatient as it tried pulling and pushing at different spots on the door. Now the ponies really started to panic, letting out intermittent cries of fear as they all scrambled to hide behind eachother.

Zecora looked at me for some kind of plan, but I felt my mind blanking.

“You have something of ours…” The voice suddenly chirped, halting my breathing for a moment. “I can smell it… now why would you have a thing like that?”

I could feel cold sweat cover my body, she must have been talking about me.

“Dal,” Zecora cut in, getting my attention. “What is she talking about.”

Suddenly I remembered Zecora actually could understand some common. I shook my head, looking at the two doors one last time before spinning around.

‘I can’t go back… I can’t’

“We have to leave.” I said sternly, walking to the other side of the library and looking all over for an alternative exit. “Any who refuse, will be left behind.”

The ponies were all shocked at my sudden declaration, “But, can’t you… kill it?” The other teal pegasus hesitantly asked, electing a rapid shake of my head.

“No.” I stated, peering out the barricaded glass windows.

One by one they all joined me in looking for a way out. Even the large pony, Blitz, relented and dropped the weapon he was holding to walk over to the back of the room.

Grabbing onto another large bookcase, he heft it over as the books fell away and revealed another door. “Cellar has a way out, we can leave through there.”

All the ponies stopped where they were, before quickly running over to the door by Blitz. I followed, reaching the wall as a thunderous crack shook the building. Looking back, we watched as splinters exploded from the barricade. The tip of a silver sword shone through the wooden panel, before pulling out and striking again.

The door tore away like tissue paper as pony limbs reached into broken pieces and helped pull apart the structure. The group of ponies all cried in panic as they pulled at the door, fighting over it until I stepped ahead and grasped the handle myself. It wouldn’t budge, so I gave it a hard charge with my shoulder.

The thing folded like rotted wood as I nearly stumbled down the stairs just beyond. I motioned ahead, no hesitation from any of the ponies as they all raced down the stairs. I followed behind Zecora, the last pony to enter, as the sounds of splintering wood grew quiet behind us.

The cellar was dark, no light leaking into the damp structure until the one unicorn of the group ignited her horn. The room was bathed in a soft purple as we scurried through the storage room. It wasn’t long until we reached a set of stairs and hesitantly pushed open the doors sealing the cellar shut.

I pushed up slightly as the weight of the snow held the door flaps down. With a bit of effort, I managed to push the two doors open and bathe myself lightly in snow as it fell down on me. We didn’t waste any time as we hurriedly entered the blizzard once more.

The ponies were all very skittish, looking around on a swivel as they stuck close to each other.

“Lets go, quick.” I said low, motioning into the storm.

“But Dal, our cart.” Zecora asked, electing a shake of my head.

“Forget it, Z.” I stated simply, turning and marching into the snow. “Move, now.”

The ponies didn’t hesitate, following after me and sticking close. Zecora galloped a bit to catch up, walking side by side with me as the others elected to stay together.

Ruby had her kid sitting on her back as she held onto her mother’s mane to keep steady. The snow was far too deep for her to walk in, I suppose.

The town was already gone, faded away in the torrent of snow. We walked, and walked, until the snow level finally began to drop. The muscles in my legs cried in relief as the knee deep snow had reduced itself to just above the ankles.

The moment of ease, however, ended quite abruptly.

“So…” A voice echoed out ahead, causing the whole group and myself to stop in their tracks. “It was a traitor’s scent I could smell…”

A slim figure, donned in gruesome Saronite armor, strode calmly into view ahead. Her long white hair glistened like the snow falling around her, her face perfectly preserved like she was still alive. Though her pale skin betrayed that hoax, her ghostly blue eyes burning into my form.

She tsked, lifting her right arm and pointing her Runeblade towards me. “The master wishes to have a word.”

My body froze as I processed her words.

‘He couldn’t be here. He can’t!’

My adrenaline surged, my eyes darting around as the ponies all started to whimper. Dozens of figures began to appear around us from the blizzard. We were surrounded.

Zecora looked at me nervously and said something. Her mouth moved, but I didn’t hear the words. I couldn’t even think, panic overtaking me as I looked at the grinning Deathknight.

“Fetch.” She commanded, the horde surrounding us breaking into a frenzy.

Time slowed down, and I could see the fear growing on Zecora’s face as the inevitable rapidly approached.

‘No…’ I looked at Blitz as he reeled back and prepared to fight.

‘I… I can’t go back…’ My eyes flicked to Ruby as she desperately cradled her daughter.

”I’m sorry…” I whispered, turning away and refusing to meet her pleading eyes.

The mist overtook me, shifting my body into worgen form as I grabbed Zecora with my right arm. She yelped in surprise as I tore off towards the line of undead just ahead, running on three legs while holding her close.

Zecora tried to yell. “D-Dal, What-!?"

“I can’t! I’m sorry, she’s too strong!” I yelled back, leaping over the single line of ghouls blocking my way and tearing off into the blizzard.

“No! Coward!” I could hear the human shout behind me as I fled.

As much as I tried to drown it out, the next few moments came in perfectly clear to my heightened senses. A chorus of screams ripped through the storm, the sickening images of the atrocities transpiring behind me playing in my mind.

There was a short pause, one last desperate scream… then silence.

I didn’t stop running, not when Zecora yelled into my ear… not even when she started hitting my shoulder.

Not until the snow began to ease, and the fatigue hit me like a brick wall did I snap from my trance. My left hand slipped, and I rolled into a crash as I dropped Zecora. I heaved, breathing so heavy I swear I’d vomit if I was able.

I pushed the feeling down, slowly sitting up and looking for my traveling companion. I saw her immedietly, her striped coat standing out among the surrounding whiteness. She sat on her haunches, silently looking back in the direction I just ran from.

I sighed, not that she could hear it, and rubbed my face with my clawed hand. I let the visage fall, my human form once again returning as I slowly stood.

“I-“ I started, but hesitated on my words. “...we need to move. They could be following our trail.”

She didn’t react, staring out into the storm like she was focused on someone in the distance. I turned, looking the other way towards where I hoped the mountains were. When I turned back, I took a few tentative steps towards her.

“I’m sorry, Z. It was the wrong call.” I began, taking another couple steps and coming up next to her as I looked straight ahead. “I… should have just gone with my gut and left…”

No answer. I glanced down and could see her eyes were closed as she sat unmoving in the snow. I took a moment to think, before sitting down next to her and crossing my legs.

Finally, her eyes slowly cracked open. “I was praying. For the souls we lost tonight.” She said solemnly, before turning to look at me. “Do your people pray to gods?”

I shrugged, leaning back and looking into the storm. “I don’t… but plenty do in Azeroth, yes.”

“I’m sure they can hear us from here.” She said with a soft nod, before looking back to the direction we came. “I know you had to do what you did. But… did you really have no chance of winning?”

I nodded, hunching forward a bit. “Yeah, she was… on a whole other level. Even just armor alone.” I said with a shake of my head. “The ghouls I could take, but if even a single one had struck you-”

“But you were, what does it matter if one attacked me?” She asked, electing a huff from myself.

“The Plague of Undeath.” I said in disgust. “Being both worgen and Deathknight has made me… resilient. He would have to infect me directly.“ I paused, before looking at Zecora again. “But you, or any other pony… one bite, hell even a single scratch is enough to spread it. And after it’s taken hold, no Azerothian potion will save you.”

She didn’t reply, so I continued. “This changes things. For everyone, Z. Celestia needs to know about this.”

She waited, then nodded in agreement. “Well, we should only be one more day’s travel from the Empire…”

“Then we move.” I stated, standing in place and taking a couple of steps away. “The sooner this problem is dealt with, the better.”

Zecora stared out into the storm for a minute longer, before sniffling a bit and moving to follow me.

The hours passed agonizingly slow. In just a short time we had went from having everything we needed, to trudging through the snow with just the clothes on our back. We’d lost everything. The cart, our food, all of Zecora’s clothes. The only solace we got was the easing of the storm, which made spotting our direction of travel much easier as the nearby mountains loomed over us.

We'd managed to find the road again, the snowing quickly coming to an end as we walked further north. Zecora remained silent, until we passed through two mountains that hung over the path like guardians.

"We should look for some place to camp for the night." She suddenly cut in, electing a quick glance and single nod from myself.

The sun had rapidly begun it's descent as we searched, so we settled for a crevice in the nearby mountains that went just deep enough to protect us from the harsh winds. I collected dead tree limbs and branches as I came across them, tossing them all into a pile near our makeshift camp.

Reaching into my pouch, I scoured the herbs until I found the one I wanted. Pulling it out by it's long black stem, the end ignited into a red inferno as it exited the pouch.

Zecora's eyes locked onto the Flame Cap as I bent down towards the firepit. Throwing the flower onto it, the flame at the end eagerly engulfed the whole flower along with the kindling beneath it. With the fire lit, I threw in the single large piece of wood I'd managed to find and sat nearby.

Zecora used her own cloak to cover herself, laying by the fire as she sighed and stared into it.

I decided to let Zecora sleep as I kept watch. After that previous encounter, my nerves hadn't stopped twitching. I sat in place, my sword nearby within arms reach as I scanned the lonely valley. It stretched on for a while, seemingly surrounded by mountains at it's edge.

I could faintly see a sparkle in the distance, however I simply disregarded it as a particularly bright star.

I still hadn't fully come to terms with what had happened today, the faces of those ponies flashing to the front of my mind. The sickening grin from that Deathknight...

After an hour long staring match with the horizon, a nearby rustling sound pulled me from my stupor. I glanced over and saw Zecora rolled over, shifting in place and trying to get comfortable.

I raised a brow at her. "You're not asleep yet?"

She didn't turn to me, and waited a second before answering. "...the nightmares are frequent tonight." She finally responded.

'Ah...'

"Right. Sorry I should have realized." I replied with what genuineness I could.

"Luna must be busy this night." Zecora added, again shuffling slightly in place.

'Luna?' I thought to myself, 'Must be some kind of god of dreams...' I pondered the idea of what it could look like, before suddenly remembering something that could help.

I dug into my pouch in earnest, plucking an imbued vial from the remaining, and shrinking, pile. That left me with... five left of that tier. I ignored the issue of future stock, and focused on the potion in mind. Then I retrieved two herbs, both of which were polar opposites of each other. The first herb, 'Dreaming Glory', donned sunflower like petals that glowed a calming white; while the 'Nightmare Vine' couldn't look any more different, long red spines covered in green spikes making up this hideous plant.

I mixed them together, creating the watery green potion now resting in my hands.

"Hey." I prodded, getting the zebra to roll over after a moment to look my way. "Here." I added, offering the vial.

She looked at the potion in my hand, before sitting up and reaching for it.

Taking it in her hoof, she looked at it closely. "...what is it?"

"Potion of dreamless sleep." I recited calmly, getting a look of intrigue from the zebra. "It's used for a wide variety of things. Including nightmares."

She pondered the greenish liquid for a moment, before uncorking it.

"Uh." I interrupted, getting her to pause. "It um, acts fast. So..." I trailed off.

She looked at it again, before nodding and holding it in her two hooves. "Thanks..." She added with a smirk, before turning over and covering herself back up.

I elected for turning back to the open field, staring out into the sparkling stars far in the distance. Minutes went by, until I noticed the soft sound of Zecora sleeping nearby. I took in a deep breath, steadying my thoughts as I pushed the recent events to the back of my mind.

Reaching into my pouch, I pulled out the one thing I probably should have read AGES ago. I glanced over the cover of ' The ABC's to Equestrian history VOL. 1' and cracked open the cover. Reading whatever seemed interesting, I tried to take in as much as I could... but my mind, hard as I tried, was still preoccupied with what the immediate future now held.

No matter where the road takes us from here, death follows.

Interlude: A Pale Horse

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Interlude: A Pale Horse

"You're late. Again." A pudgy man spoke from the center of the hall, flanked on both sides by humanoids of many types as they all exchanged words with the nearby bankers in the walls. "If you keep this up, you won't be lasting long at this establishment!"

Syrus' skinny figure stumbled through the bank's front door, her shoes clicking on the smoothed stone as she brushed her golden bangs out of her eyes.

"S-Sorry sir, I was just-" She tried to explain, but found herself quickly cut off with a wave of the man's hand as he passed her.

"To your station! The evening rush is upon us!" He simply exclaimed, walking out of the building and merging with the townsfolk.

Syrus sighed, before hurriedly making her way to her designated bankers window. As she took her place she heft the hip level bag that'd been hanging by a shoulder strap down onto the floor and out of sight. Breathing a sigh of relief, she readied herself and locked her green eyes onto the queue of patrons accumulating ahead.

She pursed her lips, before nodding at the person in front.

Syrus huffed as she exited the royal Stormwind bank and walked into the trade district, the moon's glow and nearby burning street lights offering just enough light to those still roaming about. Few adventurers did though, all going either to the auction house which never closed or the nearby inn offering warm beds.

Syrus only glanced to the latter, before forging her own path down the darkened roads. She pulled a hood over her head, tucking her golden ponytail away and hiding her skin from the moon. She practically glowed under it's blue shine, her pale complexion caused by years of dedicated isolation from the sun.

All self inflicted of course, courtesy of the library dwelling hermit she was.

She scurried about the city in a practiced manner and made her way to a familiar spot. The decrepit building came into view as she took a few last second glances around, before slipping away inside. Pushing the damaged door as shut as possible, and finally being away from prying eyes, she doffed her hood.

Syrus breathed a sigh of relief, before turning around and locking eyes with the only other occupant in the room.

"Hey girl." Syrus spoke softly to the sitting Deathcharger, it's piercing blue eyes boring into her.

The undead horse lay with it's legs tucked under itself, hiding it's glowing hooves from sight as it continued it's stare. Syrus moved towards the creature as she dug into her bag, pulling out a single apple and placing it just a foot away from the stoic equine.

The horse stared down at it for a moment, before leaning it's head down and giving it a once over. Syrus watched eagerly as the horse seemingly accepted the fruit, but lost all that hope as it just turned to look back up at her.

"Apples neither, huh?" She huffed with a shrug, before turning away and striding towards the middle of the room.

She stopped just short of a small mark on the smooth floor, the barely noticeable faded remains of past conflict. Sitting just in front of it and crossing her legs, she took the shoulder strap off and set her bag down before digging into it, retrieving a leather bound tome which had obviously been repaired numerous times along it's seam.

She carelessly pried it open, flipping to the page number in her mind before dragging her finger down the written lines. She did this numerous times, sometimes with the same book... other times with another, older looking one. Even occasionally she'd put both her hands out, just to swear under her breath when it only produced but a pathetic spark at most.

After a multitude of attempts, and an exhausted dictionary of curses, she stopped reading a book mid passage and rubbed both her eyes.

The nearby animal let out a small whinny as Syrus turned to look at the horse. It stared her down from it’s same spot as Syrus paused her experiments to walk over. The creature stayed still, not even breathing as it watched her approach.

She lightly placed her right hand on the back of it's head, just behind it's ear as it flicked slightly at the touch.

"You always manage to find him, even when he casts you away. But... I don't think we’ll find him this time." The woman said softly, electing a snort from the horse.

She knew it couldn't understand her, but she was right about it always finding him. She'd been there, many times, when the charger had managed to track Dalandor and the human whenever they would leave the city... and how he'd reject it in anger each time, the same look of regret on his face whenever he saw it. When she stumbled upon the horse this time, however, it was different.

It whined to her in urgency when it found her on the road from Goldshire to Stormwind, and after accepting a ride from the beast it had hurriedly brought her to the City. The guards, while not keen on letting the Deathcharger through without it’s knight, seemed to not say a word so long as it was behaving under her watch.

It came right here to this decrepit building, which is where it had been staying in silence for days.

"Come on girl, are you sure you can’t sense him?" She pleaded, tugging slightly at the reins.

The horse didn't budge, and only stared back at her in silence. Though, for a moment, it flicked it's gaze back to the slightly stained floor.

Groaning inwardly, Syrus moved back over to the same spot from earlier while rubbing her head in frustration, peering at the tome still in her grasp.

"There has to be... something. Something I'm missing... come on..." She mumbled to herself as she paced, before closing the book and staring at the ground in thought.

Looking one more time at the book in her hand, she shook her head and tossed it back into her nearby bag.

"Lot of good those were." She said in annoyance, before crossing her arms and looking down at the strange marking.

"..."

She bent down, hesitating for a moment before reaching out and placing her hand on the cool floor. Closing her eyes, she tried to block out all other senses and focus entirely on the sensation she felt through the contact. At first, she only felt the cold stone seeping into her skin.

She steadied her breathing and tried to peer into it with her own magic. She couldn't quite explain what it felt like, but it was as if she could feel the history printed into the stone. She focused, listening for any kind of change as the cold sensation suddenly turned warm for only a second.

Heat, life... death. Someone had died here, but there was something else which was almost covered by the distracting warmth.

A faint line... like a bridge that's been cut.

"A portal!" Syrus suddenly exclaimed, her eyes shooting open as she turned towards the nearby horse. "But... wrong. Very wrong..." She trailed off with a shake of her head, standing back up and peering just ahead where the portal would have been.

With a couple readying breaths and a shake of her right arm, she slowly lift her hands up in an arc while focusing intently on her destination. The bridge she'd felt, it was barely there, the trail already butchered and unusable. She couldn't even see it's end, as if it was shrouded in nothing.

So she focused not on the destination, but the familiar feeling... the feeling of her friend.

She imagined him in her mind, his terrifying figure, the cold presence... the undeniable need to help the weak, regardless of what he claims. The search seemed vain, and her face strained with the effort. Almost an hour ticked by as her confidence wavered... until a small shiver suddenly ran down her skin.

She sensed him! Out there, in the middle of the void and nearly completely concealed. Each time she tried to latch on, he would slip from her grasp. He was simply too far... too shrouded to make a direct connection with her current talents.

But tried she did, over and over. Attempt after attempt subsequently failing until she began to feel the familiar buildup of fatigue within her body. Her mana had quickly been draining with each attempt as her spirit wavered. A connection had to be made soon, or she might never get the chance again. Reluctantly, she lit up the area around her in blueish runes as the room burst into a violet hue.

Grasping out with her mind, she latched as close as she could to his presence and let loose her spell in an explosion of magic. Reality rippled ahead of her as it strained against the spell, as if almost refusing to obey.

The portal shifted one last time, before suddenly opening a window to an entirely different area. Syrus brought her hand up as the sudden change in light momentarily blinded her, the landscape beyond the portal differing from her current location in many ways.

The most obvious being the time of day.

She looked at the rolling grassy hills and sunny clear sky as she tried to ponder just how far across Azeroth Dalandor had truly ventured. She didn't get to ponder long, however, as the portal violently rippled causing the scene to shudder. She reeled back in surprise, the reality of what's happening suddenly dawning on her.

Something was trying to cut her off!

The nearby horse, which had until now been sitting silently and observing, let out an alarmed whinny as it barreled towards the portal. Syrus couldn't even begin to stop it as it careened through, the image starting to distort violently as the edges of the portal fizzled.

"Crap... agh!" Syrus groaned in frustration, before grabbing her nearby bag and jumping through the portal.

The trip was violent as the pull from the portal threw her tumbling into a floating void. The sense of being pulled from every direction tugged at her being, lasting only a moment but feeling like an eternity. Then, as if she just crashed through a cool later of water, it all washed away.

"Oof!" She let out the unceremonious sound as she crashed onto a grassy field, hills sprawling in every direction.

She slowly looked around from her prone position, before glancing back at the portal as it neared the size of a coin and disappeared.

"D-Damn..." She mumbled, pushing herself up and brushing her wrinkled skirt.

She went silent, however, as she peered at the monstrous monument in the distance ahead... towering over much of the land like an imposing titan. A marbled and golden castle lay perched upon the mountain just ahead, and before she could even soak in the sight of it much longer a nearby whinny caught her attention.

Snapping her head to the right, she came face to face with the Deathcharger as it trot towards her. It stopped just a few feet away, shaking it's head and letting out a snort as it looked around cautiously.

Syrus brought her hand up and scratched behind it's ear again, before looking up towards the massive landmark.

Shaking her head clear of the shock, she looked back at the charger in high hopes. "Which way, girl? Can you take us to Dal now?" The horse simply looked around the landscape, before glancing back at Syrus... much to her dismay.

She tried coaxing the horse a few more times to begin it's search, but it seemed it had no idea which way to go either. With no solid direction in mind, Syrus sighed and peered back towards the massive city atop the mountain.

"Well... good enough first step I suppose." She said to herself with a shrug, before making her way around the horse and onto it's saddle.

It didn't care, or at least if it did it didn't show it.

It listened to her commands for now, at least. Syrus lightly pulled the reigns to the right and the horse obliged, trekking on towards the city. From atop the saddle, she peered around and looked for any other landmarks. She spotted what seemed like a town behind her, further away than the mountain was, as the barely visible square shapes of houses could be seen in the distance.

Turning ahead, she lightly kicked her feet as the horse reared up and tore off towards their destination.

Celestia sat atop her throne, lightly sipping from a small cup held in her magical grasp. The cup wasn't the only thing which she held, however, as various documents hovered about as she absentmindedly glanced between them. She was at the second part of her daily routine.

Raising the sun was the first, obviously. Second, catching up on any overdue paperwork from the previous day. Only when she was finally done that, was it time for step three... day court.

This meticulous routine is something she'd stuck to for... centuries at this point; it was basically second nature.

That's why when a sudden crash sounded from the throne room entrance, it caused her focus to waver as she dropped a couple documents held in her magical grasp. The pages fluttered to the floor as she glanced to them, before turning to the source of interruption with annoyance.

"I had not given the order to start court yet." Celestia boomed in a motherly, but clearly annoyed tone as she stared down the armored pony heaving deep breaths at the doors.

"I-I'm sorry you're highness! But there's a situation at the gates!" The officer explained, a hint of worry in his voice.

Celestia raised a brow at the pony, setting down the teacup from her magical grasp. "The gates? Is this not something the guards can handle?"

The pony hesitated for a second, before shaking his head. "They're using magic we've never seen before! And they're riding this... thing." He explained, a hint of disgust evident in his tone.

At the mention of unknown magic Celestia frowned, before standing up and nodding once.

"I'll handle it."

"I said get off!" Syrus screamed as an earth pony wearing armor grappled her to the ground.

The Deathcharger whinnied in panic nearby, laying on it's side and flailing slightly as a red aura held it down. A second nearby guard grit her teeth, her horn glowing the same color as she focused on the strange creature she was subduing.

Suddenly, Syrus vanished. Only to reappear in an instant ten feet away. She was still prone, and looked back at the confused earth pony as he growled in annoyance and stood back up. He began his charge again, but this time the human had a plan of her own. She waved her left hand out as she rolled onto her back, sending out a wave of ice that froze the ground in front of her.

It washed over the guard, freezing him from the knees down and surprising the nearby unicorn. The moment of distraction was enough as her grip on the horse loosened. The charger hurriedly stood up, before running over towards Syrus.

The human, quickly standing to her full height, jumped onto the side of the horse with a grunt of effort. She held onto the saddle as it ran, climbing over it and sitting correctly with a sigh of relief. Looking back, she could see the unicorn help her fellow accomplice break free from the ice as they shrunk in the distance.

"Wh...what the hell..." She mumbled to herself, looking to the skies for a brief second and trying to find the third one which had flown away when the fight started.

She didn't even have a chance to communicate, they were on her from the moment she rounded the mountain and approached the gate. Syrus charged through the open green field on horseback, back in the direction she came, as her mind raced to think of a strategy.

In-between the rapid beats of hoofsteps she focused and closed her eyes for a moment, before stretching her right arm out with a flourish. However the only thing she produced was a faint crack of static in her palm as she looked on in confusion.

She tried again, and again, grunting in annoyance as the spell refused to work.

Pulling on the reins, the horse reared back for a moment before stopping with a hard stomp.

"Wherever this is, it can't be right." She once again spoke aloud to herself as she hopped off the horse and readied her posture. "So why. Won't. You. WORK!"

She finished with a grunt of effort and another flourish of her hands, her attempt to conjure a new portal as fruitful as her last. At the realization her portals weren't working she looked to her right hand in confusion.

The moment was cut short, however, as the sudden sound of heavy wingbeats could be heard in the sky. Syrus snapped out of her stunned state and ran to her mount again, jumping onto the saddle and just barely glancing back. Her eyes widened at what she saw, a massive winged creature soaring straight towards her and glowing like the sun.

The horse needed no more convincing to run as it tore off in a straight line, but much to Syrus' dismay... only open fields lay before them. Swallowing the dry pit in her throat, she grasped behind herself and into her bag as she realized what she had to do.

She knew she must have stumbled deep into horde territory. Their language made no sense to her, and everything she'd seen so far had been completely foreign to her. Regardless, she couldn't dwell on the details and steeled her focus for the upcoming scene.

Finally finding what she was looking for, she pulled the items out as they glinted slightly in the daylight. She held two vials in her hands, one a calming sky blue while the other a sickening green filled with rising bubbles. Before she could even pull the corks off, her horse suddenly lost all momentum as a golden glow surrounded it.

The loss in movement caused her to lurch forward, flying off the saddle until a moment later she too was surrounded in the aura. She was floating, upside down, just in front of her charger that stared back at her in shock.

"Another human?" A motherly voice spoke from behind her as she heard something lightly impact the ground. "Riding a... in my mothers name... what is that!?"

Syrus couldn't understand the voice's language, but she could understand the tone, clear as day. It held surprise, worry... disgust. She squeezed the potions in her right palm, hiding them from view as she was slowly spun in the air towards her captive.

What she saw, almost made her confidence falter.

The creature before her she could only describe with one word, beautiful. It, on the other hand, seemed to stare back at her with a mix of emotions. Syrus caught the glow surrounding it's horn, noticing the constant concentration needed to hold the spell, and made a split second decision.

Twisting her empty palm towards the pony, runes spiraled around her fingers and caused Celestia to let out an unceremonious gasp as her head snapped back slightly. The counterspell severed the magic binding her as the aura sputtered out and Syrus fell to the ground.

Before making impact, she blinked a small distance away and dropped on the soft grass below with a thud. She quickly stood up, facing the winged pony as it shook the unfamiliar attack off and turned to meet her gaze. Dalandor's horse had also been freed, tearing off in the direction opposite of them both.

Syrus swore under her breath as she watched her ride gallop away, before locking eyes with Celestia as her wings slowly spread out to full size.

"Relax." She spoke, shaking her head. "You will stand down now."

Syrus took a few steady breaths as she focused on the creature that had just spoke. Even if she didn't understand the language, she knew what she was being told... to surrender.

Syrus' mind reeled, glancing around the land she stood upon. 'Dalandor had to be here, he had to be, they must've done something to him! If they did...' Her jaw clenched as she twist the two vials together in her palm.

With her mind made up, Syrus ripped the corks out and threw both potions back.

The mana potion did it's job quickly, refreshing her reserves and easing the fatigue of her spellcasting. The green vial however, was a whole different beast.

The Spellpower Elixir ran down her throat like lava, like it was igniting all the nerves inside her body. She could feel her magic dripping with potency as she took in a deep, steadying breath and locked eyes with Celestia once more. The pony looked hesitant, and just as she went to speak was cut off by a flourish of the humans hands.

The air around Celestia rippled for just a moment, long enough for her to notice and put up a shield. An arcane blast imploded down onto the pony, crashing into the shield and vaporizing it in an instant. Celestia reeled from the sudden strain, but wasted no time as she gave a mighty flap into the air to dodge the next blast.

The ground dented inwards from the second attack, just barely missing the pony as she tore off into the sky. Not a second later, and she felt herself being targeted again. Syrus aimed skyward, unleashing a barrage of arcane missile waves that curved towards the princess as she stopped and stared back at the projectiles.

Just as they all curved inwards for impact, Celestia teleported a few feet to the right to avoid them. The missiles all hit air, dissipating into nothing as Syrus groaned in annoyance and started focusing her next spell.

Nearby, watching the display with a mix of reactions, was a small crowd that seemed it wouldn't stay small for long. They say word travels fast in Canterlot, especially rumors. But when word gets out that your princess is dealing with a problem at the gates? Now that's some juicy gossip.

More guards had arrived at the gates, holding back the quickly forming crowd of ponies as they all watched their princess seemingly dodge magic spells.

"There is NOTHING to see here, ponies! Please return to your homes or businesses!" A guard spoke over the crowd, trying to block sight of the battle, albeit fruitlessly.

With each flash of magic the ponies would all gasp in surprise, horror and amazement.

Another Alicorn stood nearby, midnight blue with a mane of stars, as she examined the ongoing battle. She watched her sister carefully... the way she would only use her magic to conjure shields or teleport herself away.

"Y-Your highness! The crown is in danger, we should be helping!" A nearby guard sputtered in worry as he ran up to the lunar princess.

Luna didn't answer him for a moment, focusing on the fight ahead as her sister dodged another barrage of purple projectiles.

"Princess!" The guard spoke again, this time getting the attention of the diarch.

Luna simply turned her eyes to the pony, her head staying straight as she looked down at him in annoyance. The guard shrunk slightly, awaiting his princesses orders.

"...do you think so lowly of your princesses, that you do not believe her capable?" Luna spoke slowly, electing a rapid shake of the pony's head.

"O-Of course not! I-"

"Then be silent." Luna spoke bluntly, shutting the guard up as he turned to the battle ahead.

The worry on his face remained, at first, but slowly transformed as he began to look on in wonder. As did the rest of the guards, no longer were they holding back the civilians... but had seemingly joined them in gawking. The ponies watched breathlessly as one spell after another was lobbed from the ground and seemingly dispatched by Celestia.

Fireballs fizzled out, arcane barrages dodged... even frost attacks would be melted by a fiery shield before they could land.

Everypony seemed entranced, all but one.

Luna watched with annoyance, shaking her head at every spell choice or sighing under her breath whenever Celestia missed an opening. Her only weakness was currently on display for the world to see.

Her kindness.

Syrus brushed her damp bangs away as she huffed, charging another spell to aim at her flying target. This time, however, she was giving it everything she had. The spell ebbed and pulsed in her palms as she pushed her two hands together with increasing force.

Her eyes burned on her target, the pony hovering thirty or so feet above, and with a grunt of effort let loose her pyroblast. As it left her grasp, the fireball bloomed into a hulking boulder of flames. Celestia's eyes widened in surprise as she lit her horn up and teleported away just in time.

She was, however, unprepared for what came next.

As she popped out of existence and re-appeared in the sky, the massive ball of flame steered itself midair and careened towards her. She didn't even have enough time to take in a full breath, before the spell slammed her side with the power of a train.

The blow was accompanied with a fiery explosion that engulfed her for a moment, obscuring her figure from view as all the ponies watching gasped in horror. Her form appeared a second later as it plummeted to the ground and crashed hard. A few screams rang out from the crowd as ponies all watched the scene with absolute attention.

The guard who'd spoken before reeled, before moving to aid the felled princess.

"HOLD!" Luna suddenly yelled, the Canterlot voice spooking everyone nearby and causing the nearby guard to stop. "You will not move another step. Or so help me, I will discharge you here and now."

Luna's face beamed with fury, and the guard couldn't help but obey the command as if there was more than just his job on the line. Luna tore her gaze from the pony, and locked onto where her sister had hit the ground.

'Come on...' Luna thought as she watched the small cloud of dirt settle. 'It's time to wake up, sister...'

Celestia lay half collapsed, but quickly regained her footing in the miniature crater she had created. She let out a small snort of annoyance and shook her head, her rainbow mane rippling in response. Her right shoulder burned in pain, but only a slightly darkened patch on the fur was any indication of the damage... marring her otherwise pristine coat.

Turning to face the human again, Celestia's eyes shined with confidence... and a hint of something else. A nearly non-existent emotion which their subjects have never witnessed from their princess.

Anger.

Luna looked on with a small, barely visible smile as her sister once again spread her massive wings.

'There you go...'

With a single flap Celestia tore into the sky again, but this time didn't stop to hover. She carried her momentum as she turned into a nosedive, igniting her horn and aiming towards the human who's face quickly filled with panic. The human let loose another barrage of missiles, but this time Celestia didn't bother dodging. Her shield shone bright, much brighter than before, causing them all to ricochet away on impact.

Syrus had barely a moment to process her next spell, blink, as the pony made contact with where she'd just been standing. Celestia slammed into the ground, but without missing a beat, quickly turned and fired a beam of magic straight at the Human. Syrus could barely react to the attack as she flung her hand up and erected a mana shield.

The beam pierced the barrier like paper, slamming into her shoulder and sending her rolling onto the ground.

It felt like she'd been struck by a ray of pure heat as her shoulder cried out in pain. The shield had subsequently drained her of mana as well as she fumbled with the bag hanging on her hip. She tried to grasp for a mana potion, but never got the chance as Celestia slammed into her from behind with her forcefield and pinned her down.

The pony pushed her weight down onto the human for a second, before using her magic to grasp and twist her around. Syrus' body lurched at the force as she was pulled to her feet and spun to face the Alicorn. They met eyes again, but this time Celestia's calm façade was replaced with a look of righteous fury.

Syrus tried to fight against her hold like before, but the magic was different this time... stronger. It's grip confined her like a hot steel prison, as if at any second it could turn molten.

Her magic grip faded as Syrus fell to the ground with a hard thump. The human looked up at the pony hesitantly, before slowly raising both her hands in surrender.

"Sister." A new voice interrupted the two as Luna landed nearby. "I'd say you handled it. May I?"

The blue pony walked up to her sister, glancing down at the blemish on her shoulder once before smirking. Celestia didn't say a word and took her leave from the group. Stopping for a second, she spread her wings and tore off into the sky as Luna watched her go.

As she flew... her mane, which had slowly begun to turn a whitish hue as the fight picked up, faded back to its normal rainbow design.

The human glanced at the flying princess for a moment, before she was held in a new grip quite different than the last... but also very much the same; the feeling of cold iron holding her in place as Luna peered back at her with curiosity.

Syrus could only manage a small, nervous chuckle.

Far away from the rapidly calming gates of Canterlot, a horse of darkness trampled across the land with unwavering stamina. It's glowing blue hooves stormed against the terrain, beating like war drums as it's eyes burned in a single direction.

She couldn't feel him at first... but she could now, the familiar cold calling out to the dark steed from across the land.

As snow began to crunch under-hoof and the day turned to night, few ponies bore witness to the steed as it barreled past landmarks and towns, unimpeded by weather and obstacles. It's one and only burning desire fueling it onward... to return to the one who had recalled it's spirit to this plane.

The only thing which pulled the charger's attention during it's journey, was a single lone knight.

The figure gripped it's runeblade and produced a dark smile, watching the horse shrink into the horizon and towards a brilliant kingdom of crystal.

Fall Of The Lich King

by Pinkies Imagination

Featured on Fimfiction:

rikithemonk:

DauntedSuperior:

Featured on Fanfiction:

Not another me:

Chapter 1: Dark Memories

Chapter 2: Hunting

Chapter 3: Equines

Chapter 4: Scouting

Chapter 5: Revelations

Chapter 6: Death and Vengeance

Chapter 7: Answers

Chapter 8: Of Potions and Ponies

Chapter 9: Encroaching Nightmares

Chapter 10: Fundamentals

Chapter 11: Library Visit

Chapter 12: A Second Chance

Interlude: The Heart of Eternity

Chapter 13: Quartz Junction

Chapter 14: A Simple Job (Part 1)

Chapter 15: A Simple Job (Part 2)

Chapter 16: A Pale Face

Interlude: A Pale Horse