Child of the Night

I continue walking, even though I'm exhausted. My magic is drained, so I can't teleport to where we're going. Aurora had woken up about an hour after I had started walking, and had asked where we are going. I had replied with, "To some old friends." And that had placated her.

By now I have been walking through the night, and the sky above the canopy was starting to brighten with the first signs of morning.

"Hold on tight Aurora, I have to get my bearings again." I tell her as I crouch. She bites down onto a strap of tough vines I had found so she had something to grab onto incase I needed to move quickly. Spreading my wings under a light part of the canopy where I was crouched, I jumped and flapped with all my dwindling might, and soared up into the pre-morning sky, looking for landmarks.

Giving a quick glance to my daughter in my arms to make sure she is still there, I hover there for a few moments, looking for one tree in particular. After a few moments, I see the tree in question. It was massive, and its leaves gave off a gentle blue glow that was barely perceptible with how bright it was getting. Logging the direction in my mind, I begin my decent back down to the ground.

I aim for the hole in the canopy I made, and gently glide down to it before dropping back down into the forest altogether. My landing sent those needles up my legs as my strength was fading in the coming daylight.

I grunt in slight pain as I continue on my new bearing in this deadly forest. Surprisingly we hadn't run into anything else that dwells here.

After another hour of me walking through the forest I started speaking in elven. Asking for assistance, and medical attention, hoping that an elven patrol would answer, and take us to Ashvataarl.

As I keep moving I hear trees being moved in the distance, and stop moving to get a better lead on where it is coming from. I stood there waiting for a few moments as I listened to the forest around me. Again I hear the distant sound of trees being pushed aside, however I can also hear the footsteps this time. A rhythmic sound of only a two legged being, meaning that what is nearby is a hydra, and judging from how muffled the sounds are, and how far away the sound, I would assume this hydra is old, and battle worn.

My heart starts to race as I know I can't defeat such a foe on my own, even at my best.

With that in mind I hit my armor medallion, reverting my armor back into a medallion, and break into a run for Ashvataarl. I need the speed, not the protection at the moment, and I knew that I couldn't fly for very long with my armor active.

"Father, why are we moving so fast?" Aurora asks me. I am grunting from moving as fast as I am with how tired I am, and with how much my legs hurt from my rough landing earlier.

"An elder Hydra is approaching, and I don't have the strength to kill it, so we run." I tell her as I dipped between trees in a run for the Elven Capital City. As I ran I can hear the Hydra getting closer to us with each of it's deafening footfalls. I decide to take a chance on the Elven people once more who might be nearby enough to teleport us to safety.

"Im am cóon osiris -o i dú, im baur cín polod cel o hi radag!" I shout out into the woods as I ran. I hear the stomping, behind us now, pick up in pace, and receive no reply from the forest dwellers about my plea for help.

Seeing a clearing coming up in front of us I half spread my wings in anticipation of flying from my plight, whom seems to be right on my tail. I pick up my pace as the ground starts to rumble beneath my feet from the hydra behind us.

As I neared the clearing I open my wings, and start flapping to increase my speed. I reach my top speed rapidly, and start to feel the hope of escaping with our lives get brighter within me. However, right before I exit into this clearing I am tripped by the ground shaking heavily from the hydra stomping the ground.

For the few moment I am in the air, I give a few faulty flaps of my wings to try and get airborne, but am stopped by clipping a tree branch with my right wing, and go tumbling to the ground. At the last second I spin around to land on my back to not land on my daughter.

Hitting the ground hard, I am dazed, and have the wind knocked from my lungs as I skid across the ground on my wings. Looking up at the hydra that is now in front of me, I catch a small glimmering of metal on the creatures back.

"Dár cel cóon, a accept mui aid!" I hear an Elf call to me. I immediately relax now knowing that the hydra is being used as a beast master's steed.

"Maybe next time carry a loud horn on you so I don't! I though we were going to be Hydra chow!" I call back at him. He laughs as he dismounts his reptilian steed.

"As true as that may be, we don't get visitors very often, so it was overlooked as a piece of necessary equipment." He says as he offers me a hand. I accept his help, and am pulled to my feet.

" Thanks." I groan in pain as my right wing flops around limply. His face hardens at my injury.

"Why are you carrying a Timberwolf?" He asks in mild confusion. I chuckle a bit, and groan in pain again.

"This is my Daughter that the Goddess Everfree has gifted upon me. Her name is Aurora Whisper." I tell him. I could see his eyes widen beneath his helm.

"Surely you jest?" He asks me. I look down to Aurora. She grins up at me with a hint of mischief in her eyes.

"I am the daughter of Goddess Ever Free, and Prince Osiris." She says in flawless Elven.

The Beast master jumps slightly in surprise as I look to my daughter in awe and pride. Even I can't speak flawless Elven.

After the Beast Master stopped having a mini heart attack, he chuckles a bit before whistling sharply causing the Hydra to bend one of it's heads down with a loud rumble like purr.

"Mount up Prince, we have a ways to go to get to Ashvataarl." He tells me as he mounts his steed as well. I gently climb onto the Hydra's head, and sit down hoping I did it right. The beast seems to chuckle at how I hopped on before raising it's heads up above the canopy off the forest before it starts walking towards the City hidden in the forest.

I gaze about in awe of my new view of the Everfree, and give a smile before looking down into my arms at my Daughter.

"We're as safe as we're going to get in the Everfree, so rest up while you can." I hear the Beast Master tell us. I nod my head in acknowledgment before laying on my back with Aurora still in my arms. The Elder Hydra's head fin curls over the top of us to make sure we don't fall off during its trek through the forest. The rhythmic stomping of the beast lulled my exhausted self to sleep rather quick.

I wake up as I hear big heavy door's being opened, and slowly sit up to see the city gates to Ashvataarl being pushed into the wall surrounding the hidden city. I grin as I see the "City Hidden by Leaf" once again.

There are few distraction spell towers at the highest points of the city, casting what appeared to be a glamour over the top of Ashvataarl. These prevented fliers from seeing the city if they happened to fly over it, or from those that were at high vantage points from seeing it at a distance. Oh the mischief I got up to with my friends and that spell. Countless cookies and sweets raids to the castle kitchens, and many nights spent in the restricted sections of the royal libraries, both here and in the Everfree castle.

I'm brought back to the present as my daughter whimpers in my arms, as I had been distracted and bumped her injured leg.

"Sorry Aurora, got lost on memory lane." I say as I adjust my arms to support her better. She remains silent, and curls into my chest. I smile a bit before looking to the beast master that brought us here.

"I know it has been a while since I was here last, but could you take me to a healer?" I ask him. He looks over to one of the Guards nearby and waves him over.

"Please take his majesty to a healer, and yes he's carrying a Timberpup." The beast master says as his hydra lowers me to the ground.

I step off, and give said hydra a few thank you pats before it rises back up.

Looking to the guard, I see them patiently waiting for me to follow them. I nod and we start walking into the city. We pass by various storefronts, each selling their own unique wares, and I even saw a store that was selling what looked to be spell cards that got arcane wisps to take the shape of various creatures, and battled them. One of the children playing this game had an elflike figure dressed in what appeared to be a heavy battle robe of dark colors, and seemed to be outright crushing his opponent.

I smile lightly as I remember these "cards" now. A popular game for children that seems to have taken off in the last thousand years.

I am brought back to reality as the guard enters a nearby building with elven medical symbols all over it. I follow him in, and see that it is similar to the current hospital that was in Ponyville.

Approaching the receptionist with the guard, I grimace as my wing and legs remind me that they are hurt. I nearly collapse, but manage to stay standing by sheer force of will.

"And what has brought you to us today?" The receptionist ask me in common.

"I have injured my legs and left wing in the forest, and my daughter has a wound on her hindleg." I tell her as all of the standards, and customs of the elven people come flooding back into my mind. The elves of the Everfree prefer blunt honesty over anything else, but only if you are polite while in their presence.

"Alright, if you will take a seat, I'll have a healer out shortly." She tells me with a small smile. I give a firm nod, and turn to the small waiting area to take a seat. I look down to my daughter, and look her over again, I can see and feel her trembling a bit.

"What is wrong my child?" I ask her. She whimpers for a short bit before answering.

"I hurt, more than before." She tells me.

"I know, but we made it, and it wont be much longer now." I tell her. She just groans a bit before falling silent once more. Trying to help my daughter was futile as my magic is still burnt from fighting that ursine.

"Prince?" I hear someone call for me. I look up, and see a healer looking at me. I stand and walk up to them. They nod before turning, and leading me further into the building, coming to a stop at a room, and holding the door open for me. I flash a quick smile in thanks, before entering, and taking a seat on the low sitting bed. The healer follows me in, and takes a seat in a chair nearby.

"So, what exactly is injured on the two of you?" She asks me. Looking up from Aurora, I am slammed with memories from how familiar this elf looks.

"Nesa?" I ask barely above a whisper. She blinks a few times.

"No, that's my grandmother. I am Tramara." She tells me. I nod a bit.

"You are nearly identical to her." I say before my wing throbs again. "But we can talk later, Right now my left wing is likely dislocated, or sprained. My legs have fall damage, and my daughter has a large crack in one of her hind legs." Tramara's eyes widen a bit before she stands, and her hands ignite in a pale green glow.

"Please hold still." She tells me. I don't move an inch as she brings her hands closer to my daughter, and gently place them on Aurora's right hind leg, and the glow on her hands brightens as magic flows into the wound, and starts stitching it back together. I watch in slight awe as my daughter's leg was essentially sown shut with vines before a thin layer of her skin-like bark form over the top on a matter of seconds.

"Please set her down, and lie on your front so I can get started on your injuries." She says neutrally, as she is focused on her profession. Aurora hops out of my arms, and into another nearby chair.

I gently turn and lie on my stomach to give Tramara easy access to my wings.

"Bui i aenil, ennas na- limb damage hi." I hear her whisper to herself before I feel magic flowing into my left wing, and my pain starts to sooth away. She stops, and I cant feel my wing.

"I cant outright heal it. You have too many fractures and breaks for me to do so. I'll need to get you to a surgeon or two to fix this." She tells me before moving to my legs, "As for now, I'll bind it in place so you don't hurt it more." She says as her magic starts wrapping gauze around my wing to gently bind it to my back. While she does this magic courses into my legs, and in the time it took her to wrap my wing, she had healed my legs.

"Not very much damage here, just a few hairline fractures that I filled in." She says before backing away.

"Is your grandmother still alive?" I ask her. She nods her head. I smile with a plan forming in my head. Nesa was a prodigy when it came to medical spells.

"Will you take us to her? I think the surgeons can wait." I ask with my smile. She tilts her head before shrugging.

"Sure, I don't see why not. I assume you were friends back then?" She asks me. I nod my head, and stand up from the bed.

"Does she still live in the same home?" I ask as I make sure my legs were fine, nodding in satisfaction of the healing done.

"Yes, says she cant leave it for some reason that she cant explain." Tramara tells me. I chuckle a bit, knowing exactly why.

"Then let us go, I believe I should see her after all these years." I say before heading for the door, Aurora at my side as silent as ever.