Aegisby AIRSChaptersAs a Filly: Part 1As a Filly: Part 2Leaving 'Home'The WastelandSlaving AwayAs a Filly: Part 1Aegis turned 10 this year. For a normal Filly this would be one of the best times of their life. It was Double Digits. The time you can now classify yourself as a big girl, the time you would get presents, the time where you're surrounded by friends and family, and the time where nothing can go wrong. That though, was not the case for little Aegis. Aegis wondered around her house, it was nothing glamorous. It was a small house, and luckily, her parents were out. That was a good enough birthday present. She felt great, that was a one off, normally she would be hiding away or playing with her friend Silver. Aegis was an outside pony but she was scared of other things. You see, Aegis was growing up in a different community, not Ponyville, not Manehatten, not Hoofington, and not Canterlot. Any of those places would be heaven compared to where she currently was, She was in the Wastelands, nothing special, it was relatively horrible. The community she was growing up in, refer to themselves as 'Pures'. It was a community of Earthponies who see both Unicorns and Pegasi as mutations; Creatures who should not exist. Aegis heard a pebble ping off of the window she was near. she flinched, as the sudden noise surprised her. There was another ping of stone on glass, a moment later. "Silvaria could you quit that?" Aegis spoke, she was mildly annoyed. Her worst fear was the consequences that followed if the glass had broken. Another stone pinged on the window and she shuffled over to it to look out. "Silvaria!" Her young normally quiet voice squeaked. Aegis looked down at the smaller but older grey pegasus. "Do you not understand Equestrian?" She said with a sigh and gave a small smile. Her arrogant friend was on the same boat as her, except that she was a pegasus and she could more or less fly from her problems. Even though she could fly, she chose not to most the time as she was trying harder to fit into the all Earthpony community but never had any luck. She unfortunately, by this time, had given up all together. "I was trying to get your attention!" Silver said with a stupid smile on her face. She flew up to the window and slid it open and she hugged Aegis. "Happy Birthday!" Both Aegis and Silver were now hugging and giggling like the fillies they were. Silver was Aegis's only friend and vice versa. They always looked out for each other like close sisters, and never the "despise each other" kind of sisters. "So how's your birthday been?" Silver broke the hug with a soft smile. Silver always had a smile. "Like every other day, quiet." Aegis sat down. She was slightly on edge, as this was about the time of day that her parents would return home. She had memorized the time they got home, which was between 3 and 3:30pm. "Aegis calm down." Silver rolled her eyes. She always thought that Aegis was being silly when they are about to get home. In Silvers eyes, Aegis was a Unicorn. A Unicorn had a direct advantage against Earthponies. But Silver was 12 and immature, and Aegis was the mature one. "No Silver please." Aegis was scared for Silver. Aegis was always scared for her, due to the fact that Silver never stayed with her family. Instead, she lived off the streets, or the rock path that was considered the street. Aegis was afraid of losing her only friend, because the ponies in the town were tracking the filly and hoping to catch her and get rid of her. Aegis had picked all this up when she listened to her father after dinner and was left in her room. "Aegis, Aegis, Aegis", Silver replied and patted her head, "They can't catch me, I have wings." Silver had her 'Oh-So-Cocky' tone in full swing. "C'mon Silver! You can't be like this all the time!" Aegis swatted at Silvers hoof. Getting head pats made her feel way younger then she already was, and she hated that feeling. Aegis jumped when she heard the opening, then closing of the front door. Her worst thought was happening so quickly. Her parents were home and if they caught silver in the house, she would be screwed. She listened for her parents walking through the house, and her eyes went wide as her father knocked on the door of her room. "Aegis no one better be in there.", He spoke in a stern voice. At this point, Silver herself began panicking. When Silver couldn't stay within her chilled laid back attitude, she'd get too nervous and flying would become a thing of the past. She looked at Aegis wide eyed and waited for an idea. Aegis too was in panic, but she could think under the strain. "Aegis I'm coming in when I get to 10.", Her father spoke again, "1.." He had begun to count and time was rapidly running out. "2.. 3.. 4.. 5.. 6.. 7.." Aegis quickly went beside Silver and whispered in her ear, "Get under the bed and don't make a move!" "8.. 9.." Silver did exactly as she was told. Aegis then quickly jumped onto the bed and levitated a notepad and a crayon. "10." At this point he had finished counting and stepped into the room, right as Silver had gotten into position. All the Adult saw was his 'Not-So-Wanted' child laying on the small single bed drawing. Him or his wife had no clue that Aegis was capable of magic yet as it had never been presented to them. Everything seemed normal to him and he stepped back out of Aegis' room, trading places with her mother. Aegis turned her head to face her mother putting on a completely believable innocent look. Meanwhile, Silver was under the bed holding her breath, begging that the parents don't start asking questions. Silver was very lucky that Aegis' Mom cared more than her Dad. "Happy Birthday sweetie." She said quietly enough for the father not to hear, as she ducked out the room closing the door. Aegis moved to the side of the bed and threw her head over to look underneath. Silver let out a loud sigh of relief when she saw the face of her best friend. "So... Can I stay over tonight?" Silver said shakily, but smiling that she wasn't caught. "Silver...Please...Go home", said Aegis in a sorry yet serious tone, without smiling. "Please, you nearly cost me dinner." Aegis looked upset. She had nearly lost her best friend, and she felt bad. She needed space. Silver crawled out from under the bed and stood up. She didn't say a word. she had felt as if it would be best just not to say anything. Silver nodded slowly and sadly, as she jumped back out the window. Aegis looked down at her best friend, and felt so guilty, so.. terrible... Silver was merely trying to be a friend and she sent her out. And that was the last Aegis saw of Silver... As a Filly: Part 2Aegis woke up the morning after her birthday. Something was off. It felt late, A little TOO late... She looked at the little clock on the bedside table and she registered the time. "Ten-thirty!?" she yelped She scrambled out of her bed. This was bad, VERY bad. Normally she would have been woken up at 8 by Silver with more pebble on glass action. Aegis looked out the window. Maybe Silver was out of stones to throw and it was a good thing. Well, maybe not, because there was no Silver. Worry instantly filled Aegis' mind. Silver was always there to wake her at eight AM sharp. Aegis opened her window and stuck her head out to look in all of the directions. There was no sign of Silver. Aegis quickly moved to the door and swung it open to run out. She ran to her mother. Her Father was always out by seven. She hugged her Mum crying, as Aegis was afraid without Silver. Silver always diverted attention away from her onto herself. "Mom! Mom! Silver's gone!" Aegis spoke in a distraught babble that even she could hardly understand. Her Mom was surprised by her child. She never saw Aegis this sad. She was in the living room, knitting, getting ready for winter as it was near the end of Autumn. The weather got very cold during the winter in that particular part of Equestria, so everyone had to prepare themselves. "Shhhh, Shhhh, Aegis sweetie calm down......No one's caught Silver." Her Mother believed that no one caught Silver. No one could catch that filly. She could easily hide on a roof or on a cloud. "She's g-*hic!*-gone!" All of a sudden hiccups kicked in. Now she just sounded ridiculous. To understand Aegis at this point would be impossible. At that moment her Father unexpectedly came home. He was unusually VERY early. There should've been another 5 hours before he returned. Today was definitely different. He strolled in the best of moods. "Honey, you have no clue what happened today!" The grin on his face said it all. He looked as if he won a million bits. His wife, though, who was still holding Aegis close, did not reply. She just looked at him, awaiting his response. "Ahaha, Some ponies, What'd ya call them... Uh.. Unicorns! Some 'Unicorns' came into town and they said they would catch that little filly that's been buzzing about. Now, NOW, I was Skeptical at first, but then they caught her! She's finally gone!" He started laughing again. Aegis's heart shattered into many pieces. she was hurt. She wedged herself out of her mother's grip. She couldn't take this. Her only friend in this world was Silver. She ran to her room, tears streaming down her face. She got to her room and slammed the door shut, which made the situation worse. Her Dad, now from happy and pleased to Agitated, went to Aegis' room and opened the door. Aegis had forgotten to lock her door. "Aegis what have a told you about slamming the door!?" He boomed, as he moved towards Aegis who was both cowering and crying on the bed. He flipped her over and gave her a forceful slap, which instantly silenced her. She was still crying, but she kept it in. Her Mom would've done something, but she too was scared. After all, she was smaller than her husband. She just sat there, looking down at what she had knitted. It was a small blue scarf for Aegis, but it would hopefully go unnoticed. Not much happened for Aegis the rest of the day. She locked herself in her room, as she no longer had the inner strength to leave. She was now all alone in the harsh world she had to call home. It was painful. She would have to now suffer every day for the next six years where she lived. To Aegis, this wasn't home. To her, it was absolute hell. The beating came more regular now, as there were no distractions offered to her. As the six unimaginably long and painful years of solitude went by, a plan had hatched in Aegis' mind.... Leaving 'Home'Aegis was now 16. It was 3 weeks after her birthday. Nothing special happened. It was less special than any other for that reason, but that's not what was going on now. Aegis was leaving.... Aegis sat in her room and laid back on her bed staring at the ceiling. This was the day she marked off to leave home for the best. She kept a bag hidden under the bed which was full of knickknacks and anything that could be of value, as well as the only sentimentally valuable item she could take with her, being the scarf she was knitted oh-so-long ago. The ponies here didn't use Bits as currency. Instead, they traded and bartered. Aegis had only learnt about bits last year when a stray traveler came by and tried to get supplies. Asking the pony questions, she came to learn that bits were used everywhere and looked like small pieces of yellow/gold metal. She didn't see the value in it, but the traveler thought they had great value. This is where she ended up. She looked under the bed and pulled out the bag, which was definitely NOT lightweight, and placed it gently on the bed. The pressure had been slowly getting to her. Could she do this? Could she really leave home? A tear rolled from her eye and onto the bag. She bit her lower lip and levitated a piece of scrap paper and a pencil, and stared to write on it: ‘To Guardian Heart, Mom, I have decided to leave home. This is not the place for me, and nobody wants me here either. Please do not worry about me as I can take care of myself. I have taken Dad's travel pack and put some food and valuables in it. I honestly don't want to leave home and I am scared but I am better off gone. I also know magic. I never told you but I learnt magic by myself. It is nothing much but it will help me. ~~I miss I am so I wish promise me~~ I'll miss you, Mom. Promise me you will stay strong and don't let Dad do anything bad to you. - From Aegis’ Aegis put the note on her bedside table, then hugged a pillow smothering her face in it. She couldn't go through with this. No way could she do it, but she had to. Aegis went around the house, grabbing a few more things: A diary, some pencils, a map, and a compass. She tucked all but the compass into the bag. She put that around her neck. Both her parents were out working. Her Mom had to take up a job to support them, as her father took up drinking, making him particularly violent. She felt so bad leaving her mother with him, but Aegis could not ruin her own life like this. She strapped the saddle bag onto herself and let out a loud sigh trying to calm down. It took her a good 20 minutes but she was calmer now and she put on a brave face, though the tears that had run down her face had made their mark. She exited her room and turned to face it. This would be the last time she would see her room. Though it was pretty plain and empty, it was where she spent most her time. It was her home within the home. Aegis walked and sighed once more. It was sharp and upset. She backed away from her room and turned to walk towards the front door. There was no way could she psych herself out, as this was the only chance she had or she was stuck here. The ponies in town were planning to remove her horn tomorrow so she could be one of them. Aegis could not let this happen. She needed her horn because she was a Unicorn, had nowhere near the physical ability of an Earthpony, and would be heavily incapable when it came to working. She got to the front door as she thought about the next day. She opened the door slowly. Even though it was the middle of the day and no one was nearby, she opened the door slowly and quietly, as if she were sneaking out in the middle of the night. The air around her was cold. The winter would arrive in another 2 months and it would be purely bone chilling then. She stepped outside and looked at the house in all of its "Less-Than-Great" glory. Things had gotten worse for the house, as nothing ever got repaired. It was pitiful to look at. The paint was flaking, there were a few small holes in the roof from hail, and one of the front windows was broken. She never saw the entirety of the outside of her house, because she just never got the chance. "Goodbye, Mom..." She closed the door gently with her magic and clenched her jaw trying not to gasp as another tear went down her face. Aegis would slowly back away from the house. It was still morning, roughly 10am. It was the time everyone was out working and there was the slim chance she could get caught. To leave though she would have to make her way through the residential section of town. She just begged nobody was home. Nopony should be unless they were taking care of foals. She turned and began walking slowly, unsure of anyone was watching. She didn't want to move too quickly as that would only bring over attention. However, moving slowly would yield the same problem, so she had to find a balance. Aegis couldn't find that balance, so she just walked at a speed that felt right, which was just a mild trot. A few housewives saw her, but she pressed. There was not much that they could do, as they were stuck inside with their children. A few made the attempt to shout at her from the window, though that only sped Aegis up. When she was nearing the edge of what would be considered as the town, she turned to take one last look. It wasn't as bad as one would think it is. It was nowhere near colorful, though. Everything was more or less painted a shade of grey. While Aegis was turned, a stallion snuck up behind her. One of the housewives must've gotten his attention. The only hint that Aegis ever got of an approaching pony, was a mild crunch of stones moving under the weight of the stallion's hooves. He had grabbed her and did not show any sign of letting go. She twisted about in efforts to break loose, but she couldn't move quick enough as her saddle bag was too heavy. The stallion was dragging her back down the street while Aegis was struggling and pulling back. It was then, that Aegis had a light-bulb moment. Her horn! She gave the stallion a jab in the side, forcing him to let go. Aegis hadn’t looked fight-ready, so the stallion had not been expecting that to happen. Aegis took the brief moment of freedom to sprint as fast as the heavy saddle bag would allow her. The stallion had initially made the attempt to chase her, but she made too much distance, and by then the stallion had given up. Aegis had been walking for about an hour since the incident back in town. She was not the fittest pony but that was definitely about to change. The thriving natural surrounding quickly thinned away, and she was left surrounded by a vast, grey emptiness filled with countless rocks and a few distant mountains. At the same time, however, the eerie lifelessness of the never ending desert was strangely welcoming. It almost said something, like it was a new beginning, a fresh start. A sly smile slipped onto Aegis' face as she moved forwards toward a new fate. It was now just her and the wasteland.... The WastelandAegis had been walking along the barren land for 2 weeks now. she had lost weight, put on little muscle, and her legs burnt with the strain of walking... Aegis' eyes were hollow as she walked, and she didn't look up in the direction she was walking. She just levitated a stick in front of her in a straight line so she doesn't end up doing a massive circle. At this point, she didn't care where she was going, as she was focused on the stick. Just then, she felt something cold drip onto her back. Aeigs' head instantly flicked up and noticed the clouds which hadn't been there earlier. The clouds were dark, VERY dark. This was going to be a storm and a half. She looked at her surroundings and to her convenience, there was a cave. She began to walk towards it and found that it wasn't too big. It was maybe a three meter by three-meter entrance and it didn't seem as if anything was already living in there, as there was no physical trance that she could see. When Aegis entered the cave, it was both dark and damp, but It didn't bother her. Shelter was shelter, and that is what she needed. This was her chance to take a break, catch her breath, and a half decent sleep wouldn't hurt either. As she stared out into the lands, she looked at the bigger picture. The mountains almost looked as if they circled the wasteland, giving the feeling like there was no real way out. Aegis let out a sad sigh and laid down. She rested her head on her hooves and stared out as the rain started out light like it would then leave within the minute and then it went full monsoon mode. At that point, the rain was coming down heavy. Luckily for Aegis, the entrance of the cave had a slant that would stop water from seeping in. She stuck close to the wall and waited and waited and waited. She didn't know how long she had been waiting, and it was dark now but she couldn't sleep. The rain was keeping her up, and there were puddles everywhere. Her head was still on her hooves, and her eyes were closed as she tried once again to fall asleep. She had no luck, and the rain was starting to piss her off. She lifted herself up and trotted deeper into the cave. She didn't go too far, but far for the noise of the rain to thin out heavily. She didn't know exactly how long the cave went for, or if it could lead her to hidden treasure, but that wasn't necessary at the moment. It took some time for Aegis to fall asleep, but It was way better of a sleep then she could have imagined and it was not a light sleep. She was passed right out, as she didn't get much sleep earlier. Aegis, however, had no idea that shit would soon hit the fan. When Aegis woke up the next day, there was no way of telling the time or if it was even actually the next day, to begin with. She woke up in what looked like a prison cell, except all the walls were hard stone and the cell door was made out of the same material. It didn't take long for all this information to enter her mind. She looked down and saw herself on a straw bed, which was no better than hard cold rock. She slowly got up losing the heat she gained from being in a ball for so long. She pressed against the wall with her hoof, hoping to find a secret button that would open the cell. She checked every inch of the walls, but there was nothing to be found. In a last ditch effort, she attempted to push and break the stone door that kept her in, and once again nothing happened. she moved back to the ruffled straw bed. Aegis was now in pain. That's when she knew she did something wrong. She thought the door was going to break as she rammed into it, but when it didn't, she ended up bruising underneath. Unfortunately, she was also already sensitive from the blow she caused to herself. That's when she noticed that the door was locked with an actual lock. How inconvenient.. Aegis had absolutely no clue how she ended up there. Her coat was dirty as well. It was a dusty type of dirty, and she wasn't dusty before. She sat down in the back of the 'cell' and looked around once again examining the place to see if she had missed anything. Sadly, she hadn't missed anything and was stuck in there. She walked to the cell door. "H-Hello" She stuttered slightly, a little scared at first. "H-hello!" she called out into the cave. There were torches on the wall lighting up the place, and out the corner of her eye, she could see other cells. Who had put her in there? It was now getting to her, and panic had set in. She slowly stepped back into the cave hyperventilating. She then heard a voice. It was not the voice of a pony, as the voice was much more scruffy. She had no clue what it was but it walked up to the side of the cell and threw in a singular carrot. She quickly moved to get it but it was tugged back out of the cage and she, unfortunately, ran into the door again as she could not stop fast enough. A paw suddenly grabbed her and she struggled in its grasp, as she was pulled against the cell door. A moment later, she stopped struggling and gave up, as it would not let go. While she got a good look at what put her in here, she had no idea what it was. It, however, was a Diamond Dog. NEVER think that it can't get worse. It always can.... Slaving AwayRock, rock everywhere..... Aegis was released from the cell after a day, she would be broken in by Diamond Dogs, it wasn't a long process, they broke all the hope that the pony would have, and make them do slave labor with the only reward being food at the end of everything. The Diamond dogs took a particular liking to Aegis because she had a horn, she could do magic and finds the gems. It took her a good eight hours to be able to track gems that were merely fifteen centimeters under dirt, less distance if there were rocks in the way. But to the Diamond dogs, they had struck gold. Aegis hated the caves, luckily, as the Diamond Dogs cherished her due to the magic she didn't have to carry about what she found, but it didn't make her feel any better, others had to carry the heavy loads. Though the gems were pretty, the way they glimmered when they were clean, it was almost mesmerizing. She found herself staring at one right now, she was still young, easily distracted and it intrigued her how they even formed, and why there was such a variety of them in a close area. Even though she had little clue how they formed it didn't pair up to how the Diamond Dogs said they formed. She was hit and the gem in her hooves fell out and pinged across the ground, She was surprised, she didn't at all hear the Diamond Dog come up behind her, maybe she was just too far into her thoughts to hear it come to her. The scruffy voice spoke, she didn't like the voice. "Get to work!" The Diamond Dog hit her again. Aegis quickly scrambled to her hooves and once again, began draining away her magic on the search of gems, she was never given the chance to properly recover, and she was begging that maybe she wouldn't have to work through the night, or whenever night was. In the cave she had no clue, she never knew how long she was asleep for, if it was even morning or midnight, she had no clue. It didn't take long for Aegis to find another bundle of gems, it was a bigger bundle, roughly fifteen or sixteen of them. Their attention went off of her and to the gems, but in case they were small and they took it quickly, something big was found, it was dense, Like a Diamond. She would keep this a secret until she had to find again, as long as other bundles were found, she could keep this hidden Aegis had no clue why the Diamond Dogs wanted gems and such so bad, they weren't Dragons, they couldn't eat them, could they? She did not know and it would stay unknown. The bunch of gems were uncovered and swiftly put into a cart, the Diamond Dogs, now with nothing shiny in the ground turned back to her. She could easily uncover what seemed like a huge Diamond but kept it secret, she could use it as a distraction for escape, she found a small cluster of gems away from the Diamond. She was not thanked, they just moved to the new location and began digging, it was a deeper cluster, was she getting better with the magic, most likely and thank Celestia for the timing too. A pony walked up beside her and covered her mouth, Aegis froze up, metaphorically. The pony then began to speak to her in a harsh whisper. "You're treated so much better than us...." Aegis looked at the stallion that had spoken to her, the same stallion with his hoof over her mouth. She didn't know how to respond, even if she did respond. All that could come from her mouth was a muffle. The stallion looked bad, he was mostly bone, it looked horrible to look at but she couldn't look away from it. He was dirty, dusty and clearly unhappy she was getting better treatment. He let go of Aegis and she dropped onto her flank, she heard the sound of chains as she was let go and she saw that the pony was chained, but free to move, like they had lost the key and just broken the link so he can move. It was clear the diamond dogs had little care. The stallion walked away, to do his job, whatever it was, but Aegis was sure she'd see him again, soon. She was left looking in that direction. Not realizing that the Gems were all uncovered, she was grabbed by the muzzle and the horn, that was how they moved her, and it was this time back into the empty cell. She was gently tossed in onto the straw bed. She was guessing it was night or day, whatever it was, it was time to sleep. She put her head down to think about the place, one day and she could not stand it, it was dirtier than her old home, and forced to work now, Aegis had made up her mind. Tomorrow would be the escape. She was going to vanish.
As a Filly: Part 1Aegis turned 10 this year. For a normal Filly this would be one of the best times of their life. It was Double Digits. The time you can now classify yourself as a big girl, the time you would get presents, the time where you're surrounded by friends and family, and the time where nothing can go wrong. That though, was not the case for little Aegis. Aegis wondered around her house, it was nothing glamorous. It was a small house, and luckily, her parents were out. That was a good enough birthday present. She felt great, that was a one off, normally she would be hiding away or playing with her friend Silver. Aegis was an outside pony but she was scared of other things. You see, Aegis was growing up in a different community, not Ponyville, not Manehatten, not Hoofington, and not Canterlot. Any of those places would be heaven compared to where she currently was, She was in the Wastelands, nothing special, it was relatively horrible. The community she was growing up in, refer to themselves as 'Pures'. It was a community of Earthponies who see both Unicorns and Pegasi as mutations; Creatures who should not exist. Aegis heard a pebble ping off of the window she was near. she flinched, as the sudden noise surprised her. There was another ping of stone on glass, a moment later. "Silvaria could you quit that?" Aegis spoke, she was mildly annoyed. Her worst fear was the consequences that followed if the glass had broken. Another stone pinged on the window and she shuffled over to it to look out. "Silvaria!" Her young normally quiet voice squeaked. Aegis looked down at the smaller but older grey pegasus. "Do you not understand Equestrian?" She said with a sigh and gave a small smile. Her arrogant friend was on the same boat as her, except that she was a pegasus and she could more or less fly from her problems. Even though she could fly, she chose not to most the time as she was trying harder to fit into the all Earthpony community but never had any luck. She unfortunately, by this time, had given up all together. "I was trying to get your attention!" Silver said with a stupid smile on her face. She flew up to the window and slid it open and she hugged Aegis. "Happy Birthday!" Both Aegis and Silver were now hugging and giggling like the fillies they were. Silver was Aegis's only friend and vice versa. They always looked out for each other like close sisters, and never the "despise each other" kind of sisters. "So how's your birthday been?" Silver broke the hug with a soft smile. Silver always had a smile. "Like every other day, quiet." Aegis sat down. She was slightly on edge, as this was about the time of day that her parents would return home. She had memorized the time they got home, which was between 3 and 3:30pm. "Aegis calm down." Silver rolled her eyes. She always thought that Aegis was being silly when they are about to get home. In Silvers eyes, Aegis was a Unicorn. A Unicorn had a direct advantage against Earthponies. But Silver was 12 and immature, and Aegis was the mature one. "No Silver please." Aegis was scared for Silver. Aegis was always scared for her, due to the fact that Silver never stayed with her family. Instead, she lived off the streets, or the rock path that was considered the street. Aegis was afraid of losing her only friend, because the ponies in the town were tracking the filly and hoping to catch her and get rid of her. Aegis had picked all this up when she listened to her father after dinner and was left in her room. "Aegis, Aegis, Aegis", Silver replied and patted her head, "They can't catch me, I have wings." Silver had her 'Oh-So-Cocky' tone in full swing. "C'mon Silver! You can't be like this all the time!" Aegis swatted at Silvers hoof. Getting head pats made her feel way younger then she already was, and she hated that feeling. Aegis jumped when she heard the opening, then closing of the front door. Her worst thought was happening so quickly. Her parents were home and if they caught silver in the house, she would be screwed. She listened for her parents walking through the house, and her eyes went wide as her father knocked on the door of her room. "Aegis no one better be in there.", He spoke in a stern voice. At this point, Silver herself began panicking. When Silver couldn't stay within her chilled laid back attitude, she'd get too nervous and flying would become a thing of the past. She looked at Aegis wide eyed and waited for an idea. Aegis too was in panic, but she could think under the strain. "Aegis I'm coming in when I get to 10.", Her father spoke again, "1.." He had begun to count and time was rapidly running out. "2.. 3.. 4.. 5.. 6.. 7.." Aegis quickly went beside Silver and whispered in her ear, "Get under the bed and don't make a move!" "8.. 9.." Silver did exactly as she was told. Aegis then quickly jumped onto the bed and levitated a notepad and a crayon. "10." At this point he had finished counting and stepped into the room, right as Silver had gotten into position. All the Adult saw was his 'Not-So-Wanted' child laying on the small single bed drawing. Him or his wife had no clue that Aegis was capable of magic yet as it had never been presented to them. Everything seemed normal to him and he stepped back out of Aegis' room, trading places with her mother. Aegis turned her head to face her mother putting on a completely believable innocent look. Meanwhile, Silver was under the bed holding her breath, begging that the parents don't start asking questions. Silver was very lucky that Aegis' Mom cared more than her Dad. "Happy Birthday sweetie." She said quietly enough for the father not to hear, as she ducked out the room closing the door. Aegis moved to the side of the bed and threw her head over to look underneath. Silver let out a loud sigh of relief when she saw the face of her best friend. "So... Can I stay over tonight?" Silver said shakily, but smiling that she wasn't caught. "Silver...Please...Go home", said Aegis in a sorry yet serious tone, without smiling. "Please, you nearly cost me dinner." Aegis looked upset. She had nearly lost her best friend, and she felt bad. She needed space. Silver crawled out from under the bed and stood up. She didn't say a word. she had felt as if it would be best just not to say anything. Silver nodded slowly and sadly, as she jumped back out the window. Aegis looked down at her best friend, and felt so guilty, so.. terrible... Silver was merely trying to be a friend and she sent her out. And that was the last Aegis saw of Silver...
As a Filly: Part 2Aegis woke up the morning after her birthday. Something was off. It felt late, A little TOO late... She looked at the little clock on the bedside table and she registered the time. "Ten-thirty!?" she yelped She scrambled out of her bed. This was bad, VERY bad. Normally she would have been woken up at 8 by Silver with more pebble on glass action. Aegis looked out the window. Maybe Silver was out of stones to throw and it was a good thing. Well, maybe not, because there was no Silver. Worry instantly filled Aegis' mind. Silver was always there to wake her at eight AM sharp. Aegis opened her window and stuck her head out to look in all of the directions. There was no sign of Silver. Aegis quickly moved to the door and swung it open to run out. She ran to her mother. Her Father was always out by seven. She hugged her Mum crying, as Aegis was afraid without Silver. Silver always diverted attention away from her onto herself. "Mom! Mom! Silver's gone!" Aegis spoke in a distraught babble that even she could hardly understand. Her Mom was surprised by her child. She never saw Aegis this sad. She was in the living room, knitting, getting ready for winter as it was near the end of Autumn. The weather got very cold during the winter in that particular part of Equestria, so everyone had to prepare themselves. "Shhhh, Shhhh, Aegis sweetie calm down......No one's caught Silver." Her Mother believed that no one caught Silver. No one could catch that filly. She could easily hide on a roof or on a cloud. "She's g-*hic!*-gone!" All of a sudden hiccups kicked in. Now she just sounded ridiculous. To understand Aegis at this point would be impossible. At that moment her Father unexpectedly came home. He was unusually VERY early. There should've been another 5 hours before he returned. Today was definitely different. He strolled in the best of moods. "Honey, you have no clue what happened today!" The grin on his face said it all. He looked as if he won a million bits. His wife, though, who was still holding Aegis close, did not reply. She just looked at him, awaiting his response. "Ahaha, Some ponies, What'd ya call them... Uh.. Unicorns! Some 'Unicorns' came into town and they said they would catch that little filly that's been buzzing about. Now, NOW, I was Skeptical at first, but then they caught her! She's finally gone!" He started laughing again. Aegis's heart shattered into many pieces. she was hurt. She wedged herself out of her mother's grip. She couldn't take this. Her only friend in this world was Silver. She ran to her room, tears streaming down her face. She got to her room and slammed the door shut, which made the situation worse. Her Dad, now from happy and pleased to Agitated, went to Aegis' room and opened the door. Aegis had forgotten to lock her door. "Aegis what have a told you about slamming the door!?" He boomed, as he moved towards Aegis who was both cowering and crying on the bed. He flipped her over and gave her a forceful slap, which instantly silenced her. She was still crying, but she kept it in. Her Mom would've done something, but she too was scared. After all, she was smaller than her husband. She just sat there, looking down at what she had knitted. It was a small blue scarf for Aegis, but it would hopefully go unnoticed. Not much happened for Aegis the rest of the day. She locked herself in her room, as she no longer had the inner strength to leave. She was now all alone in the harsh world she had to call home. It was painful. She would have to now suffer every day for the next six years where she lived. To Aegis, this wasn't home. To her, it was absolute hell. The beating came more regular now, as there were no distractions offered to her. As the six unimaginably long and painful years of solitude went by, a plan had hatched in Aegis' mind....
Leaving 'Home'Aegis was now 16. It was 3 weeks after her birthday. Nothing special happened. It was less special than any other for that reason, but that's not what was going on now. Aegis was leaving.... Aegis sat in her room and laid back on her bed staring at the ceiling. This was the day she marked off to leave home for the best. She kept a bag hidden under the bed which was full of knickknacks and anything that could be of value, as well as the only sentimentally valuable item she could take with her, being the scarf she was knitted oh-so-long ago. The ponies here didn't use Bits as currency. Instead, they traded and bartered. Aegis had only learnt about bits last year when a stray traveler came by and tried to get supplies. Asking the pony questions, she came to learn that bits were used everywhere and looked like small pieces of yellow/gold metal. She didn't see the value in it, but the traveler thought they had great value. This is where she ended up. She looked under the bed and pulled out the bag, which was definitely NOT lightweight, and placed it gently on the bed. The pressure had been slowly getting to her. Could she do this? Could she really leave home? A tear rolled from her eye and onto the bag. She bit her lower lip and levitated a piece of scrap paper and a pencil, and stared to write on it: ‘To Guardian Heart, Mom, I have decided to leave home. This is not the place for me, and nobody wants me here either. Please do not worry about me as I can take care of myself. I have taken Dad's travel pack and put some food and valuables in it. I honestly don't want to leave home and I am scared but I am better off gone. I also know magic. I never told you but I learnt magic by myself. It is nothing much but it will help me. ~~I miss I am so I wish promise me~~ I'll miss you, Mom. Promise me you will stay strong and don't let Dad do anything bad to you. - From Aegis’ Aegis put the note on her bedside table, then hugged a pillow smothering her face in it. She couldn't go through with this. No way could she do it, but she had to. Aegis went around the house, grabbing a few more things: A diary, some pencils, a map, and a compass. She tucked all but the compass into the bag. She put that around her neck. Both her parents were out working. Her Mom had to take up a job to support them, as her father took up drinking, making him particularly violent. She felt so bad leaving her mother with him, but Aegis could not ruin her own life like this. She strapped the saddle bag onto herself and let out a loud sigh trying to calm down. It took her a good 20 minutes but she was calmer now and she put on a brave face, though the tears that had run down her face had made their mark. She exited her room and turned to face it. This would be the last time she would see her room. Though it was pretty plain and empty, it was where she spent most her time. It was her home within the home. Aegis walked and sighed once more. It was sharp and upset. She backed away from her room and turned to walk towards the front door. There was no way could she psych herself out, as this was the only chance she had or she was stuck here. The ponies in town were planning to remove her horn tomorrow so she could be one of them. Aegis could not let this happen. She needed her horn because she was a Unicorn, had nowhere near the physical ability of an Earthpony, and would be heavily incapable when it came to working. She got to the front door as she thought about the next day. She opened the door slowly. Even though it was the middle of the day and no one was nearby, she opened the door slowly and quietly, as if she were sneaking out in the middle of the night. The air around her was cold. The winter would arrive in another 2 months and it would be purely bone chilling then. She stepped outside and looked at the house in all of its "Less-Than-Great" glory. Things had gotten worse for the house, as nothing ever got repaired. It was pitiful to look at. The paint was flaking, there were a few small holes in the roof from hail, and one of the front windows was broken. She never saw the entirety of the outside of her house, because she just never got the chance. "Goodbye, Mom..." She closed the door gently with her magic and clenched her jaw trying not to gasp as another tear went down her face. Aegis would slowly back away from the house. It was still morning, roughly 10am. It was the time everyone was out working and there was the slim chance she could get caught. To leave though she would have to make her way through the residential section of town. She just begged nobody was home. Nopony should be unless they were taking care of foals. She turned and began walking slowly, unsure of anyone was watching. She didn't want to move too quickly as that would only bring over attention. However, moving slowly would yield the same problem, so she had to find a balance. Aegis couldn't find that balance, so she just walked at a speed that felt right, which was just a mild trot. A few housewives saw her, but she pressed. There was not much that they could do, as they were stuck inside with their children. A few made the attempt to shout at her from the window, though that only sped Aegis up. When she was nearing the edge of what would be considered as the town, she turned to take one last look. It wasn't as bad as one would think it is. It was nowhere near colorful, though. Everything was more or less painted a shade of grey. While Aegis was turned, a stallion snuck up behind her. One of the housewives must've gotten his attention. The only hint that Aegis ever got of an approaching pony, was a mild crunch of stones moving under the weight of the stallion's hooves. He had grabbed her and did not show any sign of letting go. She twisted about in efforts to break loose, but she couldn't move quick enough as her saddle bag was too heavy. The stallion was dragging her back down the street while Aegis was struggling and pulling back. It was then, that Aegis had a light-bulb moment. Her horn! She gave the stallion a jab in the side, forcing him to let go. Aegis hadn’t looked fight-ready, so the stallion had not been expecting that to happen. Aegis took the brief moment of freedom to sprint as fast as the heavy saddle bag would allow her. The stallion had initially made the attempt to chase her, but she made too much distance, and by then the stallion had given up. Aegis had been walking for about an hour since the incident back in town. She was not the fittest pony but that was definitely about to change. The thriving natural surrounding quickly thinned away, and she was left surrounded by a vast, grey emptiness filled with countless rocks and a few distant mountains. At the same time, however, the eerie lifelessness of the never ending desert was strangely welcoming. It almost said something, like it was a new beginning, a fresh start. A sly smile slipped onto Aegis' face as she moved forwards toward a new fate. It was now just her and the wasteland....
The WastelandAegis had been walking along the barren land for 2 weeks now. she had lost weight, put on little muscle, and her legs burnt with the strain of walking... Aegis' eyes were hollow as she walked, and she didn't look up in the direction she was walking. She just levitated a stick in front of her in a straight line so she doesn't end up doing a massive circle. At this point, she didn't care where she was going, as she was focused on the stick. Just then, she felt something cold drip onto her back. Aeigs' head instantly flicked up and noticed the clouds which hadn't been there earlier. The clouds were dark, VERY dark. This was going to be a storm and a half. She looked at her surroundings and to her convenience, there was a cave. She began to walk towards it and found that it wasn't too big. It was maybe a three meter by three-meter entrance and it didn't seem as if anything was already living in there, as there was no physical trance that she could see. When Aegis entered the cave, it was both dark and damp, but It didn't bother her. Shelter was shelter, and that is what she needed. This was her chance to take a break, catch her breath, and a half decent sleep wouldn't hurt either. As she stared out into the lands, she looked at the bigger picture. The mountains almost looked as if they circled the wasteland, giving the feeling like there was no real way out. Aegis let out a sad sigh and laid down. She rested her head on her hooves and stared out as the rain started out light like it would then leave within the minute and then it went full monsoon mode. At that point, the rain was coming down heavy. Luckily for Aegis, the entrance of the cave had a slant that would stop water from seeping in. She stuck close to the wall and waited and waited and waited. She didn't know how long she had been waiting, and it was dark now but she couldn't sleep. The rain was keeping her up, and there were puddles everywhere. Her head was still on her hooves, and her eyes were closed as she tried once again to fall asleep. She had no luck, and the rain was starting to piss her off. She lifted herself up and trotted deeper into the cave. She didn't go too far, but far for the noise of the rain to thin out heavily. She didn't know exactly how long the cave went for, or if it could lead her to hidden treasure, but that wasn't necessary at the moment. It took some time for Aegis to fall asleep, but It was way better of a sleep then she could have imagined and it was not a light sleep. She was passed right out, as she didn't get much sleep earlier. Aegis, however, had no idea that shit would soon hit the fan. When Aegis woke up the next day, there was no way of telling the time or if it was even actually the next day, to begin with. She woke up in what looked like a prison cell, except all the walls were hard stone and the cell door was made out of the same material. It didn't take long for all this information to enter her mind. She looked down and saw herself on a straw bed, which was no better than hard cold rock. She slowly got up losing the heat she gained from being in a ball for so long. She pressed against the wall with her hoof, hoping to find a secret button that would open the cell. She checked every inch of the walls, but there was nothing to be found. In a last ditch effort, she attempted to push and break the stone door that kept her in, and once again nothing happened. she moved back to the ruffled straw bed. Aegis was now in pain. That's when she knew she did something wrong. She thought the door was going to break as she rammed into it, but when it didn't, she ended up bruising underneath. Unfortunately, she was also already sensitive from the blow she caused to herself. That's when she noticed that the door was locked with an actual lock. How inconvenient.. Aegis had absolutely no clue how she ended up there. Her coat was dirty as well. It was a dusty type of dirty, and she wasn't dusty before. She sat down in the back of the 'cell' and looked around once again examining the place to see if she had missed anything. Sadly, she hadn't missed anything and was stuck in there. She walked to the cell door. "H-Hello" She stuttered slightly, a little scared at first. "H-hello!" she called out into the cave. There were torches on the wall lighting up the place, and out the corner of her eye, she could see other cells. Who had put her in there? It was now getting to her, and panic had set in. She slowly stepped back into the cave hyperventilating. She then heard a voice. It was not the voice of a pony, as the voice was much more scruffy. She had no clue what it was but it walked up to the side of the cell and threw in a singular carrot. She quickly moved to get it but it was tugged back out of the cage and she, unfortunately, ran into the door again as she could not stop fast enough. A paw suddenly grabbed her and she struggled in its grasp, as she was pulled against the cell door. A moment later, she stopped struggling and gave up, as it would not let go. While she got a good look at what put her in here, she had no idea what it was. It, however, was a Diamond Dog. NEVER think that it can't get worse. It always can....
Slaving AwayRock, rock everywhere..... Aegis was released from the cell after a day, she would be broken in by Diamond Dogs, it wasn't a long process, they broke all the hope that the pony would have, and make them do slave labor with the only reward being food at the end of everything. The Diamond dogs took a particular liking to Aegis because she had a horn, she could do magic and finds the gems. It took her a good eight hours to be able to track gems that were merely fifteen centimeters under dirt, less distance if there were rocks in the way. But to the Diamond dogs, they had struck gold. Aegis hated the caves, luckily, as the Diamond Dogs cherished her due to the magic she didn't have to carry about what she found, but it didn't make her feel any better, others had to carry the heavy loads. Though the gems were pretty, the way they glimmered when they were clean, it was almost mesmerizing. She found herself staring at one right now, she was still young, easily distracted and it intrigued her how they even formed, and why there was such a variety of them in a close area. Even though she had little clue how they formed it didn't pair up to how the Diamond Dogs said they formed. She was hit and the gem in her hooves fell out and pinged across the ground, She was surprised, she didn't at all hear the Diamond Dog come up behind her, maybe she was just too far into her thoughts to hear it come to her. The scruffy voice spoke, she didn't like the voice. "Get to work!" The Diamond Dog hit her again. Aegis quickly scrambled to her hooves and once again, began draining away her magic on the search of gems, she was never given the chance to properly recover, and she was begging that maybe she wouldn't have to work through the night, or whenever night was. In the cave she had no clue, she never knew how long she was asleep for, if it was even morning or midnight, she had no clue. It didn't take long for Aegis to find another bundle of gems, it was a bigger bundle, roughly fifteen or sixteen of them. Their attention went off of her and to the gems, but in case they were small and they took it quickly, something big was found, it was dense, Like a Diamond. She would keep this a secret until she had to find again, as long as other bundles were found, she could keep this hidden Aegis had no clue why the Diamond Dogs wanted gems and such so bad, they weren't Dragons, they couldn't eat them, could they? She did not know and it would stay unknown. The bunch of gems were uncovered and swiftly put into a cart, the Diamond Dogs, now with nothing shiny in the ground turned back to her. She could easily uncover what seemed like a huge Diamond but kept it secret, she could use it as a distraction for escape, she found a small cluster of gems away from the Diamond. She was not thanked, they just moved to the new location and began digging, it was a deeper cluster, was she getting better with the magic, most likely and thank Celestia for the timing too. A pony walked up beside her and covered her mouth, Aegis froze up, metaphorically. The pony then began to speak to her in a harsh whisper. "You're treated so much better than us...." Aegis looked at the stallion that had spoken to her, the same stallion with his hoof over her mouth. She didn't know how to respond, even if she did respond. All that could come from her mouth was a muffle. The stallion looked bad, he was mostly bone, it looked horrible to look at but she couldn't look away from it. He was dirty, dusty and clearly unhappy she was getting better treatment. He let go of Aegis and she dropped onto her flank, she heard the sound of chains as she was let go and she saw that the pony was chained, but free to move, like they had lost the key and just broken the link so he can move. It was clear the diamond dogs had little care. The stallion walked away, to do his job, whatever it was, but Aegis was sure she'd see him again, soon. She was left looking in that direction. Not realizing that the Gems were all uncovered, she was grabbed by the muzzle and the horn, that was how they moved her, and it was this time back into the empty cell. She was gently tossed in onto the straw bed. She was guessing it was night or day, whatever it was, it was time to sleep. She put her head down to think about the place, one day and she could not stand it, it was dirtier than her old home, and forced to work now, Aegis had made up her mind. Tomorrow would be the escape. She was going to vanish.
