Author's Note

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Chapter 1: they came from the walls.

Chapter 1: They came from the walls.

It start out as the usual night.

Wake up in the night, get the armor on, eat the meal, and stand guard while Princess Luna get settle in Night Court, wait until shift and go to sleep for the day. Wash, rinse, repeat. Every night, all the night, since Private Thorja became a Night Guard.

Honestly he slowly begin to become bored from everything, just once, he wish something will actually happen.

Oh he don’t mean seeing the Princess and all, not the seeing Equestria going to a crisis, he already seen enough of that. He wants something that happen in the castle and actually stay in it, unless it’s Discord, no pony can actually tolerate that fellow, god of chaos and all.

Private Thorja, and his sister Lieutenant Janixe, trot together in the halls of Canterlot castle as they both head to their usual assignments. While Thorja has the same yellow slit eyes, gray coat, black bat wings, and same armor color as the rest of the Night Guard, his sister is another story.

Lieutenant Janixe has dark blue slit eyes, her coat with a light gray color, her mane dark blue, same color wings though, and her armor a bit of darker color. The reason for this is quite simple, while Private Thorja is within the Night Guard, his sister is part of the Elite Night Guard, essentially they’re the best of the best of Princess Luna, and do jobs that take them far away from Canterlot for weeks, or sometime within Canterlot.

It all depends on what their Princess order them to do.

Now while Thorja may have to look the same for the armor enchantment, Janixe does not. The reason for this is because that the Elite Night Guard, has special, privileges. And it doesn’t mean just higher pay, it mean she can take time off, order the Night Guard like a Captain, and can allow herself to not look like the usual guard as the others do.

In short, it’s pretty awesome to be part of the Elite Night Guard, although to succeed into a group is hard and it’s training harsh, in the end if you survive you can be apart of the group. But ranking is harder to get since you’ll have to do more than the usual ‘guarding and trotting in the castle’.

You’ll have to do at least three jobs and succeed them all in a week time to see your superiors give you a nice complement. Over all, being a Elite is taxing to do.

Now we got some of that dealt with, we shall enter in the conversation these two been going on in, shall we?

“Come on sis! Just a little thing for your dear little brother?” ask Thorja, a large smile is seen on his muzzle, Janixe roll her eyes.

“For the last time, no bro, I’m on thin ice as it is from the last attempt you ask from me, and they still haven’t clean out all those juices from the cracks in the observation room!” told Janixe.

Thorja give a small puppy eye look. “But sis,” whine Thorja, Janixe stomp her fore left hoof.

“No! I won’t ask Captain Fierce for you to get extra ‘supplies’ from the blood room, honestly there is no way that he’ll give the 'yes' to you.”

Thorja turn his head away and sighs.

“You’re no fun you know that?” Janixe roll her eyes once more, and give a small nuzzle to her brother.

“Thorja, you know that you have to be careful now, especially since you're my younger brother.”

Thorja snort as he look to his sister. “Only by two years apart.”

Janixe give a small giggle. “Yes, by two years apart,” Her expression went to serious once more. “But still, if you get into trouble and if I try anything to help you, then they’ll demote me, and trust me brother I work hard to get this position now, and your ideas will not give me such grieve. Understand?”

Thorja look at her expression, and finally sighs. “Fine sis, I’ll drop it.”

Her muzzle give a small smile. “Good, now then, best we off to,” she stop speaking as they both hear something, both of their heads turn straight as something slowly form on the wall to their right.

At first it’s a small dot of black, but it quickly grow and grow into a large hole of darkness. “Um sis, is that a magical portal?” ask Thorja, Janixe slowly nod her head.

“Yes, question is, who’s making it?” Finally it stop growing as it’s the size of ten foot mirror.

Then something went out of it and roll down on the ground, the two move back by a step in surprise as the thing has a dirty brown coat on it. However it went up as Janixe see it covering the back, it stands up like a diamond dog, but only a bit bigger by two feet.

Black mane cover the top, iron under the mane, it quickly turn to let the two see a face with no muzzle, but it has a small nose, small eyes, a small patch of fur on the bottom of it’s mouth, and around on the upper part of the mouth and over it’s eyes.

Down on it’s chest shows something brown cover it, including something covering it’s legs up to it’s knees. Under the face is a collar with a broken metal chain connect to it, two iron cuffs around it’s wrist with the same broken chain shows the same as the collar. The paws are cover by bandages of dirty white, and the expression on it’s flat face show one thing. Fear.

It then move as if it’s the last run it will give. The two guards look in shock of this strange creature that they don’t see another being coming out of the whole two minutes later. It’s the same as the first one, but a hat cover it’s head and eyes with the shadow underneath the hat, a long black mane in a ponytail down to the neck.

It’s mane side went down to it’s chin, a blue jacket cover it’s upper body with a shirt underneath it, a blue cover down it’s leg and a pair of something cover it’s paws, the upper claws are cover by gloves.

In its left claw is a cane with a silver skull on the top with black color down to it’s bottom. The right went to dig something in the pocket of the strange cloths as it pull out a jewel of sort, a ruby that begins to glow as it speaks, a male tone with a somewhat high pitch voice went out of it’s flat muzzle.

“Hey, have you seen someone that looks almost like me, but got a collar on it, dirty cloths and is running for his life?” Thorja lift his left fore hoof to the direction where the first one went. The male creature turn his head and nod back to them.

“Thank you!”

Then a third being pop out as it is cover in a long black cloak, the size of this one however is a foot smaller than the other one . The two speak in a whole other language as they both ran toward the direction the first went to. Finally Thorja speaks. “Um, sis?”

“Yeah bro?” said Janixe, her expression doesn’t change as they both look at the departing creatures.

“Shouldn’t we call out the guards we have unknown beings in the castle?” ask Thorja, Janixe nods her head slowly as she flap out her wings.

“Yes, yes we should.”

And with that, they both fly out to tell the other guards and probably the Princess, that they have intruders.

***

“Hurry it up Grey! We might lose him!” shout the hat being as he and the cloak one run through the strange halls of this new world.

“I’m bloody trying Zero, it’s hard to try to find his energy, while running at the same time!” shout out the cloak one, the tone sound male, around fourteen of age.

The two stop at a split hall as the one name Zero looks left and right as he turn to his smaller companion. “Where is he?” he shouts, the one name Grey took out a metal cover claw of copper as it first finger tap on it’s cover head.

“Give me a moment.” The cloak one begins to focus as he ‘search’ the fading energy of their chase being, Grey points to the left as he see the fading steps of the one they are searching for.

“That way!” he answer as they both begin to run again.

“Why can’t you use magic and just get some creatures to find him Grey?” ask Zero as they run pass the startle natives of this entire place, normally they’ll be surprise and curious to see quadruple beings that are small ponies with strange design.

But they can care less since they abandon such things as they have one purpose in mind: Find the boy.

“Because this world have a different set of rules, rules that forbid me to use even the simple of magic, by me, I’m bloody lucky that I can still sense energies at all!” Zero notice that ponies of dark blue armor, some with horns, others as normal, and a few with bat wings are blocking their way. Zero prep himself to move to the wall as he run around them as his fellow move above them on their heads as they went on running.

“What, somepony stop them!” shout out a guard male as they turn and begin to chase the two.

Zero turns around as he runs backwards as he see their hunters. He turn his head to Grey as they keep running. “Say Grey, you’re sure that these magical doohickies still work?” Grey gives a groan as he shakes his head.

“Zero we may be in another world with a different set of laws, but magic still work the way it wants to work, if a translation enchantment still can translate it bloody well can, right now can we focus less on the natives and their speech and more on finding the kid? He’s bloody terrified of everything around him.” Zero shrug as he turn around and moves a bit faster as the two hear a scream, a male scream.

“Oh,” starts Grey.

“Crap.” finish Zero.

***

Five minutes earlier…

He ran.

Ran from the hunt, from his mistress, from this strangeness all around him. From the quadruples beings, from the new sights, from everything, he just want to be alone, to be free from everything.

He move through the halls as he see a open door, deciding to take chance he enter in the door as he close it, his eyes dart left to see some books, books oh how long since it has been since he seen a book of actually, he shakes his head as he keeps searching his surroundings.

Safety first, going through pleasures later.

His eyes look to see a glass door, on the outside show a balcony, his eyes turn to the right as he see a bathroom, over all it’s a simple room. With a couch.

Perfect.

The young male close the door behind him as he slowly walk toward the bookshelf, looking around him to be sure he is completely safe. He reach out his left hand, a hand cover in scars of being whip to many times, of bruises that slowly heal, before he can even touch the spine of a single book, his ears hear something.

Something coming, something coming toward this way.

His head move back and forth to find something, anything, somewhere to hide, to hide from the Mistress’s. To escape from their sadistic play, from their wrath, from their ‘love’. He notice the couch from earlier and hides behind it.

He curl in a ball and clench his eyes, arms over his head as he begins to pray for them not to find him, for him to hide here a bit more. The sounds of hooves are moving across floor as his breath quickens, finally the hooves stop, he holds his breath as he waits, finally the hooves move again, as the slowly moves away he release his breath and his heartbeat went back to the gentle rhythm.

Then it went back up as he hear a voice, a feminine voice. “Hello?”

His eyes open as he turn his head to see a creature of four legs, blue surrounding this creature of all except the waving night hair, and those green eyes, a black crown on it’s head, residing just over the horn.

A cover on the chest with the color black surrounding a crescent moon is what he sees as he look down, blue wings are on the sides as he looks down to the hooves with light purple color on them. The escapist move back as his hands scramble on the ground, his legs pushing him back, his widen eyes never look away from the creature as it look at him with confusion.

His body keep moving until it is suddenly stop as he quickly turn his head to see a wall behind him, he is a fool to look away from the creature.

His head quickly turn back as it is five steps before him, his eyes widen more as he sees the eyeliner on the creatures eyes, making it into a female. His heartbeat is faster than ever as he screams out from his throat, she look surprise at first but slowly walk toward him.

As tears are coming out of the ends of his eyes his head shakes back and forth as his body press back against the wall the creature raise her left hoof with that look, why is she so concern for him? Why? Why? WHY?

Then everything stop as his ears hear a door open and shouts of male entering in his hearing. “Oh crap! The boy!” shouts a strange familiar voice. “Zero, I’ll handle the boy, you’ll deal with the pony!”

The female creature is suddenly move as a bipedal being, he remember the name before it all happen, Zero, push the female away from him as another being came before him, hands either side of him as a assuring male tone slowly calm him down.

“It’s okay boy, I’m here now, no one is going to take you away, I swear by the Olden Gods, no one will ever take you away as long as we are around!”

The one holding him stops as both he and the one call ‘Boy’ turn their heads to see the other call ‘Zero’ is push back by a strange force. A dialect unheard of within his ears are speaking in a harsh tone.

Zero shouts back. “Back off? Lady you should be backing off! You scared the poor lad out of his wits!” The female one begins shouting at the one by him as he enter in the one side conversation. “Look, I know you're important and all but there is a huge reason for all of this, all we need is to calm down, let him calm down, and--” The creature shouts more as the runaway dart his eyes to the balcony doors as an idea came to his strange fear fill mind.

As he moves away as the three shout and argue the doors open by his hands and he slowly made his way to the balcony. Or until he hears the hair cover one call out to him. “Wait, where is, BOY STOP!”

He turn his head to see the hair cover one coming up to him, the one they call Boy made his way to the edge, the hair cover slowly raise his hands as he speak to him. “Look, don’t do this, okay kid, you don’t need to do this. Boy just slowly, come back to me alright? We’re going to make you safe, I promise kid.”

He moves right on the rail, he see the creature speaking out as Zero talks back to her. “Shut it, we’re trying to make this situation not worse, you’ll just screw things over just by trying to get him down. Leave this to us.” Hiss Zero.

He turn his attention to the hair cover one slowly making his way to him.

“Look, I promise you that they’ll never find you here,” His heart skip as he hear ‘they’, his body is halfway through on the side of the rail. “Hey, hey! Look we made sure that they will never hurt you again kid, I guarantee that kiddo, not as long we’re around. So just come to me, okay? I’m going to make this all better.”

He look at him, then look down as his heart slowly go back to it’s regular beat, and decide to listen to the calm tone of this one. Until something hit him from behind as he is drop on the balcony ground and forcing whatever is on him to get off, his heart and fear rate are rising by the second.

“Oh you gotta be kidding!” shouts the long hair one as the unknown creature on him is shove off, he looks up to see a hand outstretched, with a jewel of sorts in it and one word command to his ears.

“Sleep.”