Fire and Ash

                Awakening

   The first thing I noticed when I awoke was pain and a lot of it. My head felt like it had been kicked by a horse. I quickly grabbed my head in my hands and hoped to squeeze the pain from my head.

When the pain began to subside I opened my eyes and was met with a face with overly large eyes mere inches from me “GAH !! what the fuck “ I screeched and tried to back away from the creature  only to be met with a spike of pain from my head . My hands shot to my head again in an attempt to crush the pain out of my skull, but to very little effect.

I sat there with my hands against my head hoping for the pain to go away, I mean seriously it felt like I was getting skull fucked by a drill,

Dozens of thoughts were rattling through my mind at that moment, the main thought being where the hell was I?

My train of thought was broken when a small voice spoke up from in front of me “are you OK?”

I decided to take another look but more slowly this time. My eyes lazily opened and focused on the thing in front of me, a small green horse.

I sat there staring at the green equine for a while longer before it opened its mouth again and spoke

“I said are you OK?” I just stared at it in disbelief, did it just talk to me ? Yep this had to be the weirdest dream I have ever had.

It was looking at me rather inquisitively, “No not really” I winced as I began cradling my head again.

The horse recoiled a bit at my statement probably surprised that I could speak “What are you?” he managed to squeak out in a tiny voice as he looked at me with surprise and a little fear.

Yep the horse was talking I had to be asleep right now, and now that I know I am asleep I will wake up any second now... any second... well shit.

He just stared at me waiting for and answer, well I think it was a he. I decided to just simply counter his question with one of my own “Why are you talking? Horses don't talk”

“I am no horse, I am a pony and what do you mean we don't talk? all pony's can talk.” he stated with a slight huff “ Now tell me, what are you ?”

OK this is some freaky shit, my head began to clear and clear thought's came to me a lot easier. “I'm a human.” I stated awkwardly as I couldn't take my eyes of the pony, I mean honestly how many times have you met a taking pony ? Dream or not.

We stared at each other for a few moments before I had a good look around the room we were in, it was small, damp and grey. The only thing in the cell other than us was what looked like a metal mug and to potato sacks. “Where am I?” I asked still looking around the room until my eyes focused on the metal bars to the left of me.

“We are in a work camp run by diamond dogs” he stated flatly “We are there… humble guests” he frowned at that part shaking his head slightly. “The names steel hoof, ex royal guard, and you are... ?

Should I tell him my name? Fuck it, this is just some weird ass dream anyway it couldn't hurt, could it ? “The names Jake, I'm a high school student ” He grunted

“That’s a strange name, what are you some kind of hairless monkey ?” he asked in a mocking tone.  Good now even figments of my imagination are making fun of me. I eyed him wearily getting a better view of him he seem to be standing at about four foot tall, a military green coat, light blue eyes and what appeared to be a tattoo of  two hooves on his ass.

“No I am not a monkey, I am a human” I stated flatly,

“Well then Mr monkey” he said with a grain, I growled “you'd best be getting used to your new life” wait what ? He seemed to notice the confusion on my face so he butted in before I could ask what he meant. “You are now a slave to put it simply, the diamond dogs will work me, you and everyone else in this camp to death”

OK now I was beginning to get a little bit worried, firstly I still hadn’t awoken from this god dam dream, second I was just told I would be worked to death buy some dog thing's and most importantly to me, I couldn’t feel my magic. Not being able to feel your magic after having it for so long is a very unsealing, it makes you feel weak and concerned, as if you have lost a part of your body like an arm or a leg. “how long have you been here?”

“I don't know” steel hoof  replied “ about five or six months is think, but I cant be sure.” He looked very solemn as he said the last few words. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him, I couldn't even begin to imagine what he had been through, but then again if what he said earlier was true I wouldn't need to imagine, I would be living it.

“Does magic work here?” I already knew it didn't, I was just hoping he would give me an explanation as to why it didn't work without letting him know I could use it.

“Yes it does work in this place” wait really? I thought, then why cant I feel mine ? “The diamond dogs have no need to worry about it because they don't take unicorns prisoners... they just kill them, even the children.”

“Why? Is magic really that dangerous here ?”

“It is very dangerous in the right hooves, but most unicorns don't know anything more than a simple levitation spell, when captured they just line them up and slit there throats in front of there families, like I said not even the children survive.”

I just sat there mouth agape, they would kill children just for having a horn?

“How many people are in this work camp and how many guards ?” I asked trying to keep my anger in check from what I just heard.

“I'm not sure, maybe thirty ponies and one maybe two Minotaur’s” steel hoof sighed before continuing “ as far as guards go, I’m not entirely sure, I think it would be close to about seventy or maybe eighty, but that's just a guess there could easily be more.”

I sighed before I began to think, eighty guards that’s more of a small army than a guard, force, there goes any plans of a daring escape and jumping over a fence on a motor bike to freedom.

The ringing of a bell from down the hall broke me from my thoughts, steel hoof frowned “Well, time to get to work.” he slowly turned round and headed to the cell door. “Are you coming?” he said as he motioned for to stand. As I was about to ask him why loud shouting and growling could be heard coming towards the cell. “I said get up!” steel hoof hissed I groggily obeyed, I tried getting to my feet, this simple task being made near impossible with my headache and sudden dizziness from sitting down for so long. I slowly walked to the door and looked at the being out side.

It was at this point I got a first look at one of my captors, it stood at about five and a half feet, was covered in dark grey fur, had large yellow eyes and what appeared to me a metal helmet. The last thing I noticed was the large spear he had in his right hand, well paw to be precise.

He just stared at me blankly for a second, probably wondering what I was, “Yes ,you dig, you dig.” it croaked in voice that hurt my ears. it stared at me for a few moments before headed of to another cell. That thing was fucking ugly I thought.

“What happens now” I asked steel hoof who was just staring down at his own hooves.

“We work” he stated bluntly “we work until our backs break.”

and that we did, no more than five minutes after my encounter with the dog we were being funnel into the hall along with all the other prisoners. There had to be about twenty ponies in the hall way, they all seemed to have a different colour of coat, some had red coats others and blue some even had black coats. What I found most surprising was a few of them had wings, I mean if a talking pony was possible in this dream then why not a talking Pegasus.

We where forced down the hallway into a very large cavern, It was about ten meters high, twenty meters wide and had an assortment of tunnels leading into it. We entered from one of the larger tunnels that was closer to the cavern wall. the walls appeared to be covered in hundreds of gems. Pickaxe's littered the floor around it as well as two large mining carts for the gem's.

“Hurry up ponies, DIG!” a diamond dog screeched from behind.

I watched the ponies around me walk forward and pick up the pickaxes and get to work on the gems. how the ponies managed to use the picks with the their hooves was beyond me, but then again I was in mine full with talking multi coloured ponies, as well as talking dogs.

I stood there in wonder for a moment at their work, they looked like zombies. my thoughts were interrupted by the shaft of a spear hitting the back of my knee. “What are you waiting for get digging” the dog screeched I waddled over to a pick and quickly got to work, stupid fucking dog I muttered.

“I would do what they say.” a small Pegasus whisperer “You won't last long if you defy them.” I looked at her for a moment then glanced back at the dog who hit me, what kind of fucked up dream was this I pondered as I got to work on the rock face.

Why haven't I woken up yet? I thought, I mean it is all a dream right?

Well lets think the last thing I remember was my master trying out a new spell, a short range teleportation spell I guess that could have fucked up terribly, the old idiot was always getting into things he couldn't  fully understand, I mean I love my master like a father but sometimes he just becomes to involved with something he doesn’t understand. And if the reason for me being here was the spell... the this is no dream.

FUCK

Could all this be real? It didn't seem very logical, but then again neither was magic and I could do that.

I hammed the pick into the wall trying to vent my anger, it was very tiring work for someone who did very little strenuous activity. I did this for god know how many hours, we moved from one place to the next. Never talking, talking got you hit over the head with a spear, I found this out first hand when I tried talking to steel hoof.

After hours of work we were led back to our cells and locked up for another night, but it was then I noticed something, a very small tingling in my hands, my power was returning.

“Do you work like that every day?” I asked steel hoof as he sat against the far wall trying to get some rest.

“Yeah every day” he sighed “So tell me a bit more about your self monkey, we didn’t get a chance earlier to become properly acquainted.” he seemed to perk up at the last part.

“My name is steel hoof, as you already know. Before I was captured and locked up here I was a corporal in the royal guard, our job is to keep the country safe from all the terrors that lurk in the dark as well as guarding the princesses.” he finished the last part buy puffing out his chest as if he was extremely proud of it. “Now its your turn.”

I sighed “fine, my name is Jake, I am seventeen years old and attend high school, I live a very normal life.” I thought it would be best to miss out the part about me being able to do magic, to be on the safe side. I mean if they killed children just because of a horn on their head , I wondered what they would do to someone like me. Fucking savages

“Where are you from?” he asked “I have never seen anything like you before”

Wait, he has never seen a human before? That’s not very comforting, ”I come from planet called earth, I come from a country called Scotland to be more precise, now onto a more pressing matter, how do we get out of here?”